Seeker Burns
by Rune1975
Summary: I instinctively pulled my hand back. My skin crawled at the touch. What could this be? But deep down I already knew what it was I had stumbled over. I forced my hand back and felt skin. It was cold to touch, all life gone from the body. No breath, no pulse, no body warmth, just the same cold as the rest of the basement. Stephanie Meyer owns the world and characters.
1. Burns Living Flowers

**Disclaimer: The world and most of the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. **

**This is simply the back story for Burns Living Flowers that fell into my head when I read the book.  
And I am trying to put it down on virtual paper to see if I can do it.**

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**Burns Living Flowers**

Traveling to this world caused no memories to me. In this dreamless sleep spanning centuries and bridging the gap between two distant planets there was no consciousness, no thought, no feeling. No pain. No pain at all. Yet when I had left Fire World I felt nothing but pain. Not for myself. Not for my dying body. But for the countless sentient beings I had killed in the most horrific way. Torturing them by burning them alive to inhale the nutrients that my host needed to survive.

Tremors and upheaval followed the knowledge that the walking flowers, our food, were also sentient beings with thoughts, wants and fears.  
Burns Living Flowers was my name, it was given to me before this knowledge, but I did not want to change it. It would for always, through all my coming lives symbolize the cruelty I had witnessed and been a part of. The life on Fire World was my first life, but still I wanted to be gone from there as soon as possible. I had no intention of being inserted in a host on that world again. And I did whatever I could to shorten the life of my body.

I could not bring myself to ever burn the walking flowers again so I volunteered for programs looking to find alternate nutrient sources for the Fire-tasters, our host bodies. But nothing could replace the walking flowers. It was as if the nutrition did not come from any chemical reaction, no elements combined to give the Fire-tasters what they needed.

At last my host body failed from malnutrition. I had not been willing to let the healers save it either. I asked to be sent far away hoping that my consciousness could be stilled a bit by the time I got to another world. By the centuries passing before I got there.

When I finally woke up in a new host it was as if I had not even left fire world. Not a second had passed for me in all this time. My first reaction was to scream. It felt like my body was already screaming, I just joined in and amplified the sense of urgency, of panic and sadness.

Sadness for the walking flowers on my part. But my body also expressed sadness and grief beyond belief. Like a separate entity crying out before fading away. The scream stopped by itself as my lungs emptied, transforming into a dry cough.

I remembered now, coming in the door at the company party being greeted by the boss. I walked into the living room where music was playing, but I could not hear anyone talking. I was thinking just how weird that was. Sue couldn't keep her mouth shut if someone closed a piano over her lips. Then suddenly a hand in front of me sprayed something in my face, a pink mist? Then there was darkness, and then the scream.

Out of breath, panting heavily, my body was wet and cold. What was this place? I worked out the senses from my memories. Hearing, feeling, smelling, seeing and tasting. My mouth tasted horrible and was completely dry. I could hear a gentle voice somewhere, I tried to locate the sound with my eyes and after some searching found the right muscles to move. My head turned to the side and I could see a tall blond man standing beside me. I had no way of knowing what and who I was looking at, but my memories connected this appearance to a medical person, a doctor? Why would a doctor be at a company party?

The Doctor spoke to me. I could not make out the words at first, but soon they came to me. "Hello, can you hear me?"

I grunted a reply, trying to formulate words, but none came out. Only a low mumble and clicking sounds.

"Ah… Good, do not be alarmed, you will shortly find your speech. Here, drink some water. Your host was under for some time before we could get you inserted." He handed me a glass of water and I emptied it in one gulp. Finally finding my words I thanked him for the water.

"Good, all seems well then. Welcome to this world. I am Healer Singing into the Light." he continued. "Are you feeling all right?"

I moved my head in a bobbing manner instinctively, nodding. "Yes Healer Singing into the Light, I feel fine."

He nodded in return, "Good… And what should we call you?"

I remembered that my name was Steve, but no. I would use my former name, that from Fire World. It would constantly remind me not to hurt any sentient being again.

"Burns Living Flowers." I said.

He must have heard my hatred for the name. "Burns Living Flowers? Are you sure you do not want to change that? Sounds like there could be bad memories associated with that name?"

I bit my teeth together, unclenching just enough to affirm with determination "Yes, I am absolutely certain."

"Ok" he said "Burns Living Flowers it is. And again, welcome." He turned to another man in the room. This one was shorter and had a very blocky appearance. He had dark skin and a round head with no hair at all. _Bald, shaved_, my memories supplied me.

"Greetings Burns Living Flowers, I am Seeker Nathaniel. If you feel up to it would you please come with me? We would just like to ask you a few questions?" and not waiting for my reply. "Thank you."

The dizziness was not completely gone, but I wanted to do what I could to help. "I will do my best." I said, and on wobbly feet followed him back to a small, but very tidy office.

"Can you please tell us if you can remember the whereabouts of any other humans remaining on the lose"

"On the lose? What do you mean?" realization dawned as I said it. This was not yet a fully colonized planet. My host had lived in the wild before I was inserted.

The seeker confirmed. "Not every human is yet occupied by Souls, we need to find the last ones so they do not pose a threat to our society. Anything you can think of could be of help to us"

I searched my memories to see if I could find anything like what the seeker wanted. As it turned out my host had been mostly focused on his work and had no relations outside of that.  
I told the seeker, listing the ones from the company that I could remember.

"Then I think we have gotten the most of them, we will discretely collect the last ones when they show up for work the next time. Thank you so much for your time." He said.

"I am only glad to be of service."

"Good. We will take you home now so that you can get some rest and get more accustomed to your new body. I hope you will enjoy your life here"

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**Comment:**

Please review. I am completely dependant on feedback to see if I should continue doing this or not.


	2. Questions

**Questions**

Nathaniel drove me to a house on the outskirts of town. _My house_ I remembered. The keys were still in my pocket.

"Thank you Seeker Nathaniel" I said as I stepped out of the car.

The air was clear and chilly. The trees were a mixture of colors. Some pointy ones where all green, but the ones with the bigger leaves where ranging from browns trough yellow to red and all the mixes between. Much of the leaves were also to be found on the ground, _fall_.

Nathaniel spoke through his opened window "They will be expecting you at your work tomorrow, so until everyone from there is occupied please stay with that job."

"I will do that. Thank you Seeker" I answered him.

Nathaniel eased the car gently back on to the road and mixed easily with the traffic, everything was moving along at a serene pace and I walked in no hurry towards the house.

When I came into the hallway, I placed my shoes tidily into the shoe shelf. I scanned my new environment quickly and found that Steve, my host, had been rather tidy, but not completely.  
I studied my reflection in the hall mirror. I was, compared to the others I had encountered so far, quite tall and slender, but it was also obvious that this body did have some strength to it. My hair was a nice red tone and my face was full of spots, freckles. Even if Steve had not had the confidence to see it for himself I did compare the look to what was considered handsome among the humans and I did not really come out all bad. Not at all actually, Steve was a handsome man.

I spent the next couple of hours cleaning the house and going through Steve's now empty memories. I was surprised at what I found, the humans were a lot more complicated than the fire tasters. A whole new range of sensations I had not experienced with them. _Feelings_, yes feelings just as powerful if not more so than my own. "Strange." I spoke aloud to myself.

The next day I showed up for work at 06:30 as Steve had usually done. I passed the reception security and greeted the guard like Steve had used to.

"God morning Wenzel. A new day and new opportunities" I almost glimmered. Had Steve really been this jovial?

The guard inspected me closely, to my recollection he did not usually do that.  
This was out of the ordinary. He looked me in the eyes and started smiling "Oh hi there, but between us, it is not Wenzel anymore. I am Embracing Sunlight. Glad to make your acquaintance."

I almost found this funny. A soul of the flowers was now a security guard at a Virginian defense contractor. Maybe he had had enough peace and quiet to last him through a few life times?

"Hi Embracing Sunlight, I am Burns Living Flowers" I said, and I could see him cringing when he heard my name. Of course, as a former flower himself he could not help but empathize with the walking flowers of Fire World, and my name told him everything. That I had been a Fire Taster.

My conscience stabbed me again. The pain returned now, especially from seeing his face, a grieving expression looking up at me.

"I am sorry." I muttered as I walked by him and to my office space, not knowing what else to say. And, that is what I was, I was sorry. Other people started to come in through the front doors now, so our conversation would be over anyway. And in many ways I was glad it was. I hoped would be able to tell him just how sorry I was another time.

I came into my office that was just as Steve had left it the day before. There were no one else around this early so I just browsed through the mail to see if there were any reports of failed equipment or things that needed my attention. But there was nothing, not anything at all. Steve had been very good at his job, nothing had been left unfinished the day before. And nothing new had come up either. I started cleaning the desk, Steve was very focused on making the equipment run flawlessly, but not so focused on keeping his desk clean.

My office space had windows that overlooked the front doors, I could see everyone coming and going from here. There was Sue and Michael, both moving with purpose and calmness. Something they had not really done that often, and never together. Everyone knew that Sue had a crush on Michael, but he was always too busy to notice his colleague. So their appearance now did assure me that Sue and Michael had both been at the party yesterday. Who they were now, what their names were would be anyone's guess, but apparently Sue had finally gotten her guy. I felt in a weird way touched by this notion. "Lucky girl" I thought and smiled.

There came Josh as well, rushing to work, a bit late today. Taking the steps to the front doors two at a time. Obviously he had not been at the party yesterday and would probably be spotted by Embracing Sunlight and handled by the Seekers. I felt a bit uneasy having wild humans this close. Who knew what they could do if they felt threatened? Humans where prone to violence, and I was glad I was not Embracing Sunlight right now. Or the seekers for that matter, their job would have to be the worst it was possible for a soul to have, rounding up stray wild humans for insertion?

I shuddered. Then I heard some commotion down the hall, and it was coming my way.  
I saw Josh come running through the building, two seekers hot on his heels. "Oh no." The thought escaped me and came out loud. Why could he not just stop and submit. The seekers would not harm him in any way, if only he would understand that. Josh spotted me and came running towards me. "Oh" again things turned for the worse.

"Steve, Steve! Help me" confusion and despair showed in his eyes.

One of the seekers threw himself at Josh's legs going for a body tackle, and succeeded. Josh fell flat and although he braced and tried to protect himself with his hands, the forward momentum smacked his head to the floor.

I gasped aloud. Such violence was unthinkable. What were these seekers thinking? Josh looked towards me, blood dripping from his nose and a gash in his forehead. His eyes filled with questions.

"Who? Who are these people?"

I did not know why, but I was suddenly filled with pain again, my conscience protested against this violence, even against the seekers chasing Josh in the first place. For the second time today, the same words left my mouth. "I am sorry."

I looked down, and as I did sunlight must have reflected of my eyes. I heard a loud gasp from Josh and an even more desperate struggle, but then he fell silent. I saw the second seeker had a canister of "Sleep" that he was putting back into his pocket.

They took josh between them and lifted him into one of the meeting-rooms along the inner wall. One of them left.

"I will get a healer" he said as he was departing.

I moved towards the room. The other seeker looked up as I entered.

"We are very sorry about the emotional stress this must have caused you" he said, "He just would not stop."

I nodded, and I did not really know what to think about this. "I am sad that I had to see this." I said truthfully. "Did he hurt you?" I asked, noticing the blood on the seekers sleeves.

"No, do not worry about us. This is his blood. He did not harm us. He just tried to run away."

Did he do nothing? My mind was again a jumble of questions. The humans were supposed to be violent and capable of murdering with their bare hands. And Josh wasn't exactly a weakling. I was certain that he would be among the truly dangerous ones. This did not make sense to me at all.

Blood still dripped from Josh's nose, but not as much now. Seeing the blood made me uneasy again, I excused myself and returned to my desk. I sat there for some time with my head in my hands. This felt so unreal. Our hosts where not supposed to fear us or run from us, we lived in harmony with our hosts. Did we not, was this not the truth? Of course it was the truth. We souls do not lie, we only tell the truth. Yet doubt was in my head now. I did not think anyone was lying, it was not that, but, what if, like on Fire World, we did not know the whole truth. Was it possible that we had overlooked something when we researched this planet as well, these beings?

It hit me like a ton of bricks, the doubt, the now almost certainty that something had been overlooked.

The first seeker came back with a heeler. They healed the wounds on Josh's body and took him with them. _Him_. Not_ it_, not _the body_, but him. I thought of him as a person, just as much as any soul. This was wrong, this had to be wrong. It had to be?

Josh returned later in the day, only not himself. His new name was Glacier Walker he told me, or rather the soul now occupying his body told me. They had also found Josh's wife and all the three children at the house. Glacier Walker's partner had been inserted into Josh's wife. So they would still be together. The children would remain with them until they would be going to university. I was told that children posed a gigantic challenge on this world. Because the hosts where so attached to them it was impossible for the souls to remain unaffected by the bond. On other worlds the children would come from seeds or eggs, and the bond was not at all the same as here. On many of the worlds the hosts was even incapable of differentiating between their own offspring and that of others. Apparently the notion of "family" was important to most humans. And it affected the souls?

This was unheard of. And I started to wonder why this was not debated at all? There was something to these humans. Was I the only one to see this?

That evening I got home full of questions, my mind was pondering the day's discoveries and experiences. I found one of the instant meals, that Steve loved, in the fridge. Being careful to follow the procedure I preheated the oven to 360 degrees before putting the tray in. Steve had never bothered with the preheating, just tossing the meal in and leaving it in for ten minutes more instead.

Why did the humans make procedures when they did not follow them? Indeed a weird species.

Just as I closed the door to the oven, the doorbell rang. "Visitors? Now?" I thought.

When I opened the door a rather handsome dark skinned man looked back at me. He was not young, but bore his years very well. His curly hair was cut quite short, and he had a particularly well kept short beard. The man instilled confidence and comfort just from his being. I saw in his eyes that he was one of us. The chestnut brown was broken by the shimmer of a soul. I thought to myself that this was a man that was impossible not to like and trust. "Hi, I am sorry for not having visited you sooner. I am your comforter, my name is Bright Petals, but you can call me Geoff if you prefer" he said. "Geoff?" I said, suddenly feeling ashamed of the obvious question in my voice. Who was I to question the man's nicknames? So I quickly continued before he had a chance to speak again "Geoff. Welcome to my home. I am Burns Living Flowers, and I am glad to see you. Please do come in". I showed Geoff into the living room and gestured for him to take a seat in the sofa. "Can I get you anything? I just put the dinner in the oven and I would be glad to have someone to share it with" I said, and I was glad for the prospect of company. It was probably not wise to be on my own this evening with all these questions running through my mind.

"Why thank you, I will just have a glass of water though. I am already full. I ate just before coming here. But you should of course just go ahead and eat. I do not mind at all."

I went into the kitchen and found the mug of water in the fridge, getting some ice cubes as well. Not really necessary because of the chill outside, but I liked the sound they made in the mug, anything to cheer up my mood today. I also turned off the oven leaving the tray in there. If Steve had been right it would be perfectly done by the time I had time for it. And I was not really feeling hungry for physical nourishment. I was more hungry for the mental kind. And some amazing coincidence had delivered that straight to my door.

"So how are you settling in?" Geoff asked from the living room "are you comfortable here?" I returned to the living room with a tray with the mug and two glasses.

"I am quite comfortable here, but this world is special. It challenges me and I am filled with questions" I said while I set down the tray and poured water for us.

"That is only to be expected. And I must agree with you. Even though I have been here for years now, I still find this world challenging as well. I will try to answer you as best I can. He paused shortly. "And to your obvious question at the door, Why Geoff?"

I looked up as he said it, knowing I had probably insulted him, but there was no sign of insult on his face at all. Just kindness, it flowed from him and I thought that he must have this effect on everyone. I quickly relaxed. He had paused, as if waiting for me to confirm the question, but I kept still.

Then he continued anyway, starting by repeating the question, as if posing it to himself "Why Geoff? I am not really certain myself. My host's name is Geoffrey and Geoff is short for that. It is what his friends called him. I liked it, made me feel more at home in this body. And since I consider all souls to be my friends I use the short version when introducing myself. If you feel it weird you can always call me by my soul name. In fact you can call me whatever you like. I am here to comfort and see to you, not for you to take great care in how you treat me."

"Geoff sounds good" I said, "and I like it more now."

"But how about yourself?" he asked "Burns Living Flowers? That has to raise some reflections itself?"

I sighed. "Well yes, and that is why I kept it. What we did on Fire World was unforgivable. So I wanted to keep my name to remind me about how wrong things can go. I made a promise to myself never to harm sentient life again."

"I understand that very well" simple, no elaboration, he just understood me. "You are also the first from fire world I have ever met, and to my knowledge you are the first from Fire world that has started a life here on Earth. Most, I have been told, has gone to the Bats or the Flowers with a few to the Dolphins"

The information surprised me, was I alone here? "Oh? I did not know that" I murmured.

"Not to worry though, you will fit in just fine and be a real resource for our community. Stories of your self-sacrifice have preceded you here. But now I forget my place. How can I best help you? What are these questions you want answers to?"

My self-sacrifice, what was he thinking about? Then it dawned on me that volunteering for all the programs on Fire world and letting my host there succumb to them actually made the other souls look upon me as some sort of a hero. Hero? I felt none like it. But I let the statement go unanswered. I did not know how to express myself so that he would see what I had truly done. All I said was "I am certainly not proud of what I did on fire world, not any of it."

He looked at me with a questioning face, but refrained from asking any. Instead it was my turn.

The rest of that evening we talked and debated my questions.

When Geoff left, he was still convinced that the evaluation of the humans was accurate, and that we had saved them from destroying themselves.  
He had not entirely convinced me though. I had seen personally that the evaluations of Fire world were completely wrong and that there was a possibility that the same thing could have happened here. Still I felt I had gotten a friend, and I needed that. Sticking out in this house alone with no partner invited questions and thoughts to linger as they remained unanswered and undebated.


	3. Nate

**Nate**

Six months after my arrival I was settling in a lot better. Almost all my doubts had been swept from my mind. Geoff did his job rather well, a calling as he said it. All my colleagues had long been inserted and we had dropped the charade at work as well. There was no further need for a guard in the reception, so Embracing Sunlight had found a new job out west at a gardening outlet. Something that should suit him just fine I thought. Glacier Walker had also found other things to keep him occupied, he was a family father as he said and he watched his new family with love and affection. Before he left he insisted that we call him Josh, this was a change, and not an unwelcome one. There were many that insisted on being called their host's name, and many wanted to continue with what their hosts had done. But the director of the company had announced that the focus of business now would change. There was little point in delivering anything to the defense sector, when there was nothing that we would need defense from. The new peace in the Middle East, the eradication of religious strife and hunger had set about a new world order. There was no military, no need for intelligence gathering or any aggressive capability.

The world was now at peace.

I kept working at the same place, only now we would deliver to the renewable energy sector.

I was rather happy with my life now. I was social with the others at work, and Geoff had also introduced me to Whisky. "Every man must have a hobby," he said in jest, he blamed the remnant of the human in him, as he put it. Alcohol was not really needed by the souls, so the stores that stocked this strong liquor were few and far between. And so it happened that on one of my scouting trips for this brown alcohol I met Nate for the first time.

I had left work for a week to go as far as Forth Worth to one of the few remaining outlets of Whiskies and other alcohols. It had been rumored that they had in stock some fairly old and famous whiskies. So I could not resist the temptation to take a road trip to see what they had. But it was also an excuse to see a bit more of this world. I had asked Geoff to come along, but he could not get away from work for a whole week. "I expect you to bring back the best you can find so that we can taste it together." He had said, wishing me a pleasant, and rewarding, trip.

Going alone for this long did worry me at first, I felt better in the company of others. But I was sure I could manage a week. And there would always be people to meet along the way? No, this should be no problem at all, an adventure for sure. I packed the car like I was going to be gone for a year, I even packed along camping equipment and canned food. I had learned that a road trip could be hazardous, there was even a remote chance of running into humans that had not yet been occupied, but the risk was slim.

I waved goodbye to Geoff that saw me off and headed for Forth Worth. The first day on the road was uneventful. I drove to Atlanta in one go and found a nice little motel on the outskirts where I could spend the night. I did not have any plans to see anything here, so I just stayed in the room with the computer. I took an early night so that I might be off to a good start the day after.

The next day started perfect. The sun was shining from a clear blue sky and I got a good breakfast before I headed off. The plan was to get to Ruston before dark and it should not really be much of a problem.

But the best laid plans can also fail miserably. By noon the weather had changed dramatically, the sun was no longer visible and the rain was falling heavy now. I had the headlights on, but they could barely even break through the torrential rain. I had to find a place to stop, maybe for the night. I had passed Tallulah and even though there had been a couple of nice looking inns there I did not want to make a U-turn here in this weather. I kept going until I saw a Valero gas station coming up and decided to refuel and ask for the closest Inn.

The station attendant waved at me as I came to a stop under the big umbrella of the roof. He came out to meet me, obviously eager for any company. "Hi there, good to meet you." The sun practically shone from his face. "I am Sings the Good Song."

I introduced myself "Good to meet you too." I said "I am Burns Living Flowers."

He took it upon himself to refuel my car, I could have done it myself, but he might have been offended. Instead he seemed intent on focusing on a good chat. _Not that many coming by here_ I guessed.

"So what brings you out in this dreadful weather? Everyone should be in now. Even the bears would take cover in this weather."

"I am headed to Forth Worth on somewhat of a _voyage of discovery_ and was surprised by the weather. Actually I was planning to ask you for the closest place to stay the night?"

He seemed to come alight again "Well, you might be in luck then. There are actually a couple of places just at the back of the station here. One of them is closed for a fix up, but there should still be room at the other. The manager there is a fine fellow, also a bat"

The pump stopped, the tank was full again and he explained the way to the Inn. I thanked him for his time.

He smiled "No Burns Living Flowers, it is I that should thank you for giving some of your time to me. Good luck on your adventure and good bye."

I smiled, fully understanding, the job as an attendant out here must get quite lonely at times. Had the station been more remote I suspect it would be automated. "Goodbye" I said, "and thanks again".

Finding the inn was even easier than it sounded. It really was the very next exit from the road going to the back of the station. Best Western Delhi Inn, from the outside it looked like any other hotel, and it would certainly do for now. I did not really want to go looking for another one anyway.

I parked the car and hurried into the shelter of the reception.

An elderly gentleman greeted me. "Good afternoon. I am Sound of Closeness, how may I help you?"

"God afternoon, I am Burns Living Flowers and I am looking for a room to tide me over while this horrible weather lasts" I was glad the prospect of sleeping in the car did not seem to come to anything now.

"Ah, yes of course, let me see" He went through some notes in a book. It did not seem like he had much on the computer, _old school_ I thought.

"Actually, I do not have any vacant rooms at all. They are all taken" he said.

I slumped a bit when hearing the reply. I was about to ask if I could just stay in the car on his parking lot, not really wanting to move further in this weather when he interrupted my line of thought.

"But the double room at the end there only has one occupant, came in alone an hour or so ago with the same purpose as you I believe. He would probably only be glad for the company. You could always ask him?"

I nodded silently and smiled, that was probably a good idea. And I didn't mind having company myself either. "Thank you that sounds like a very good idea: I will ask him straight away"

Again optimistic I walked hurriedly to the door of the room that Sound of Closeness had pointed out to me. The room was at the furthest end of the inn. So it was easy enough to find. I knocked gently three times on the door and stepped back expecting the inhabitant to open the door. But there was no response, no sound from the room. Perhaps he was in the shower? No, there was no sound of running water either, and nothing that sounded like a TV. Could he have already gone to bed, perhaps to get going again as soon as the weather settled? I knocked again three times.

"Hi there, the manager here said I should ask if you would mind the company, he is all out of beds." Again, silence for a while, this behavior was weird indeed; the manager had assured me was in the room.

Then the silence was broken "Uhm yes. Eh. Just a minute and I will get dressed" I heard stumbling and someone moving around in the room. Then the door was unlocked and opened slightly. The room was quite dark, seemed to be lit by a single light source only.

A face with shades almost hid behind the door. "So eh, please do come in. Are you alone?" What a strange question. I had already said I was, and did it really matter?

"Yes, it's just me. I am Burns Living Flowers, and what may I call you?" I opened the door enough to get in and entered the room.

He hesitantly replied "You may call me Chris." he closed the door behind me.

"Thank you for having me." I said," the weather was terrible, so I had to make an unplanned stop here. Not even humans would be out in this weather I guess."

Chris seemed the oddest soul I had ever met so far, he seemed almost nervous. And using shades in this light? He had to be used to dark places. Still I could sense that his eyes never left me, he had them on me the whole time. Awkward would describe the feeling I had.

"Sit down" he said, almost like he was ordering me, nervousness certainly present in his voice now. He remained standing while I took a seat on the one bed that was unused.

"So Mr. Burns Living Flowers, who are you? What do you do? What is your line of work?"

What was this, an interrogation? "I serve the community by working at a company in Norfolk that is specializing in renewable energy. I was on my way to..."

"So you are not a seeker?" he cut me off, interrupted me. Who was this soul?

"No, I am not a seeker. Why do you ask me these questions the way you are? Are you a seeker yourself?" That had to be the explanation. He was a seeker and wanted to check if I was who I said I was. "Look, check my eyes; I am a soul like you. There is no need for this."

I could see he looked down a few seconds. Then he just looked back at me for a while, saying nothing. I was about to say something when he finally broke the silence "Me, a seeker? I am far from it. You should not have come here. You have put me in a tight spot."

I did not understand what he was saying, what he was implying. I was not used to playing games with words.

Then we heard cars screeching to a halt outside the Inn.

Chris almost ran to the window. "Stay put!" he ordered and there was no doubt this time. He pulled something from his pocket. I could not see what it was at first. He took position at the side of the window and lifted the blinds just enough to see out at the parking. I saw blinking lights lighting his face, and I noticed something strange. His eyes did not reflect the light. He was not a soul at all.

I gasped. "You are human?" he did not turn his head, but I knew his eyes were on me again.

"That's right Einstein, I am human," the object in his hand pointed at me now, and I saw that it had to be a weapon, a gun?

"If you shoot me you will not get out of here," I said.

"You should leave me to worry about that," he said cocking the gun.

I spoke before I could think. "No what I mean is, if they hear a shot they will not leave here without finding you. Let me help you. I am your only hope" I had just offered to help the human. Why? And I also knew that it was not a lie. Despite his 'shortcomings' in politeness he was as much a person to me now as Josh had been in the seconds before he was subdued back when I first saw a human. I remembered how I felt when Josh had been taken and despite Geoff's reassurances that the humans were unpredictable wild animals, I just could not let it happen again. It felt wrong somehow.

Chris looked surprised and frowned at me "you would help me, really?"

I was not very good at sarcasm, but Chris had laid it on pretty thick. I was determined now "Yes, I will help you. You have not done me any harm. And I did regret it the last time I could have helped, but did not."

I could see he was still very skeptical of my offer, but he removed his shades and looked me straight in the eyes "How can I trust you? Why should I trust you?"

"I do not lie, I cannot lie. We souls are not good at it because there is no need for us to do it. We explicitly trust each other. Why should we lie?"

"And there are no exceptions to this?" he bluntly asked, was he testing me?

"Yes, there are exceptions," I said. "The seekers are trained to lie so they are able to blend in with the native population."

We heard knocking on doors in our wing now. The seekers were moving from room to room looking for humans.

"Look we do not have the time to argue now. Please, go into the bathroom and turn on the shower." Suddenly I was resolute and commanding myself. "Take the gun with you if you will, but I assure you that you will not need it."

"And now the alien is ordering me around?! Well, I will give you a chance. But yes, be damn sure I'll take the gun along"

"And stick your head in the shower. You will have to pretend to have gotten soap in your eyes from the commotion. I will do the talking. But you will do the lying bit if we need it"

A look of realization came to his face, and he hurried into the bathroom. I heard the shower come on and not a minute too soon either, the seekers where at the next room now. Then they came to our room. The knocks where quite more powerful than mine had been.

"Yes, coming." I said going to the door and opening it like I would if I had been at home. No restrictions. "Yes Seeker, how may I help you?"

"God afternoon, I am Seeker Sheldon and this is Seeker Magnus. Some humans have been reported in the area and we need to check out all the rooms here" short and to the point, but still courteous.

"Yes of course seeker, please do come in, my roommate is in the shower. Should I get him here as well?" The seeker put his flashlight discretely to my eyes.

"No, I do not think that will be necessary" he said. Just as he was saying that the door to the bathroom creaked open and Chris' head popped out, full of shampoo. What was he doing? We did not have to do the number at all, they were already going away by now.

"What is the commotion Burns? I was so startled that I got soap in my eyes," he said, leaning his bare chest out of the door.

Seeker Sheldon answered, "Good afternoon sir, we are looking for humans. Some have been reported in the area. Have you seen any?" Suddenly I was glad he had not asked me the same thing.

Chris answered with a puzzled mine while rubbing his eyes "Humans? Here? No Seeker, we have not seen any humans, it's just me and Burns here. Now if you will please excuse me I have to go rinse my eyes. This soap stings a bit."

"Of course Sir, do tend to yourself." He turned to the other seeker "well Magnus, seems like another dead lead if you ask me. The solitude of these small towns have souls seeing things" he turned back to me and smiled an apology "we are sorry for the disturbance, please do excuse us"

"Of course seeker, you are just doing your job, and we are only glad to help, good bye" I closed the door behind them as they started walking away. I sighed with relief and Chris came out of the bathroom drying his head with a towel.

"That was amazing. I didn't believe you for one second, but when I heard you talking to them you near convinced me. I must say that I would never think one of your kind would ever do anything for me"

I heard he still did not believe what had happened, not convinced it had worked out so easy. I simply replied with a "you're welcome."

"But you have to explain to me why you just did what you did, why I should trust you?" I saw he still had the gun, but it was no longer pointed at me, he was asking with true curiosity.

So I proceeded to tell him all about me, about the doubts I had had when Josh was rounded up. What had happened on Fire World to cause my ability to question the conclusions about this world. How I had gotten my name, and why I had chosen to keep it here.

I could see that he was not the most patient listener, but he let me go on only interrupted by short follow up questions to my story.

When I felt I had explained my actions thoroughly and precise he nodded in acknowledge. "Damn right. We are not beasts. We may have our history of struggle and strife, but it is our history. I guess I owe you a thank you for earlier. I was certainly very impressed by that."

It was somehow good to hear him say it even if I had never expected it "You are welcome, as I said before. Now may I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, I would say you have earned the right. »

I had a lot of questions pent up that I had wanted to ask a human if ever I met one, but none of them came to my mind now, instead I looked at him and asked a simple one word question "Burns?"

he looked bemused "Burns? Hmm, well that was honestly all I remembered of your name. And it does have a nice human ring to it. I like it" and he continued "and one more thing "my name is Nate, good to meet you Burns"

Nate? What happened to Chris? Then I realized what had happened, humans were indeed good liars. "Good to meet you too Nate" I reached my hand towards him. He hesitated, shifting his weight. But then he also offered his and we shook. A sense of joy rippled through my spine. Had he really accepted me for what I was? Deep in my soul I wanted to help this human, and it went further than that. I wanted to help humanity as a whole. I had finally seen that I had been right to doubt the system, right about the humans. I hated what we souls had done to their world. And I only hoped I could be able to help them in some way.

"Now what do we do?" I asked.

"Now we will stay here so as not to arise any more suspicion, I guess we can think about it?" he looked at me with newfound hope, as if he still did not dare believe, or dare ask the things he really wondered about.

"Well" I said, "I am getting hungry. Should I go get some food? And we can continue this talk over a meal?"

He jerked back, again looking suspicious.

"What would you like?" I continued. "We really should get some food, and I think the manager would find it suspicious if we did not eat anything"

"Hmmm, there's a point in that. I am not really picky when it comes to food as long as there is enough of it" he was at ease again. And I could tell he was looking forward to a good meal.

"Then I'll just get us some different dishes so that we can sample a bit of each, and please do not take any souls hostage while I am gone. It might not be so easy to talk us both out of the next round of seekers then."

He laughed, even though I had meant my statement sincerely I quickly understood from his reaction that it was so far from his mind that he found it amusing when I brought it up. This made me chuckle a bit too. The tension in the room was completely gone now. I felt I could talk to this human, to Nate, just as easily as I could talk to Geoff. I may have been premature, but after the long talk I felt I could call him my friend? I knew I had a lot to prove, and I could never undo what we souls had done, but now I knew I would do what I could to help these humans, these people.

"I'll be right back when the food is ready." I said, leaving the room. I saw he moved over to the chair at the end of the room when I left. Must be where he had the best vantage point. And the gun was again in his lap. I closed the door and went to the reception.

The manager was still there. This time he looked a bit worried. "I hope the seekers didn't unsettle you too much" he said "as if they would ever find humans here? It's not like humans would simply walk up to me and book a room for the night?"

"I wouldn't know," I said.

"True. So what can I help you with? Did your roommate appreciate the company?"

How should I answer that, but I found I did not have to lie or even attempt to circumvent the truth at all. "Oh, actually he was a bit skeptical at first, but I believe I won him over. We are looking forward to exchanging life stories now I think, and for that we would like some food. Is there anything available here?" The manager put on a big grin "Yes, we most certainly do have something. We pride ourselves on the food we serve here. What would you like to have? We can whip up most things, but we specialize in local recipes"

I nodded acknowledging. "We were thinking of staying in the room this evening. Is it possible to get a couple of mixed plates, with a sample of the local dishes?"

"No trouble at all. But are you sure you would not rather eat in the dining area?" He seemed almost a bit offended that we wanted privacy and not the social setting of his Inn.

"No thank you, we are both quite exhausted and we wouldn't want to bother the other guests with our stories right now. Another time maybe" I smiled in an effort to make him feel a bit better, but only with limited success I was sure.

"Very well, I will have the food brought to your room in about half an hour. Would you like anything to drink with that?"

"Just water I think, or would you by any chance happen to have any Whisky? I think my friend might like to try it."

He gave me a questioning look and then he brightened a bit. "Why, yes actually we do have some stored away, not much demand for it, but I couldn't bring myself to clearing it out either. I have even developed a taste for the stuff myself. I will get a bottle for you as well."

"Thank you so much I said, it will be much appreciated I am sure"

I returned to Chris, or Nate, with a smile on my face. This would be an interesting evening. I knocked the door as before "Hi it's me, I'm back." Again, some noise from the room and the door was unlocked from the inside.

"Come on in, it's open" he said through the door. I opened it slowly and stepped in. He closed the door behind me, and with his gun pointed at me he made quick scan to check that it was really me. He relaxed a bit and locked the door.

"The food will be ready in about half an hour. I asked them to deliver it to our room."

He looked startled by that.

"Don't worry." I said "if we can turn away two seekers I am fairly certain we will have no problem with the staff."

I went to sit on the one bed and Nate followed shortly after sitting down on the other one.

"I guess you are right," he said with a chuckle. "I foresee a great future now that I have met you. That is if you are really genuine?" he eyed me, with a bit more caution again. I felt a sting to my heart. He still did not completely trust me, but why should he? All I had done was turn away a couple of seekers while I had a gun pointed at me. Should this be trustworthy?

I tried to put my feelings into words "I wish I could prove it to you somehow. But I do not know how. I hope you will give me a chance and some time. I cannot simply ask you to trust me, I know that. Trust and respect is earned among humans, not given lightly like with us. But I will continue what I have started today in every little way I can. At least I can give you my word on that for what it's worth."

I looked at him, trying to convey my innermost feelings on the matter, but I probably failed miserably. I was not very good at conveying human emotions.

He nodded in response "Look Burns, I am probably an ungrateful son of a bitch. You did save my life earlier and I have barely thanked you for it. I am sorry that I have a hard time believing in you. But if you had seen the things I've seen… I am sorry. I will give you the chance you want. But distrust with your kind runs deep in these veins and I do not think I can undo that in just one evening like this. However much I would want to."

I nodded too, "all I ask is a chance. Thank you."

Someone knocked on the door "Room service".

Nate excused himself "Guess I'll go into the little room, just in case" he said, moving to the bathroom and closing the door.

I opened the door and outside was as expected someone from the staff with our food on a trolley.

"Thank you so much," I said. "I will help you with that."

"You are very welcome" he smiled back "and there's this thing, with special compliments from the manager." He said while handing me a bottle with brown content. "He said it was one he thought you might like."

I looked at the bottle with a grin. I had not expected this fine scotch here. Only shows one can get some nice things from the most unlikely places. Kind of what had happened for Nate I realized, and smiled even wider. "Please give my many thanks to Sound of Closeness. This is really an exceptionally fine bottle."

"I will do that, he will be glad you liked it." He was also smiling. Obviously content with the praise "I should be getting back then" he said and left me still standing with the bottle clutched firmly in my hands. Who would have thought?

I brought the tray inside and looked to see what had been prepared for us. Great, Nate should be more than satisfied. There was enough food to feed a family I thought. "Nate. Dinner's ready, I think you'll like it."

He came out from the bathroom wide eyed "I don't think I have seen so much food in years. Now this certainly tops canned corned beef!"

We ate for a good while. Nate would still be talking, food in his mouth or not. I was a bit more civilized, but then again, I had not gone on canned food for months on end. Nate told the story of the occupation from his and the humans point of view. It took some time before they were even aware that there was an invasion at all.

When we were nearly finished eating I showed him the whisky I had gotten from the manager.

"Wow, is that for real?"

"It certainly is." I answered while I poured two glasses for us. I then lifted my glass as Geoff and I had done to celebrate a truly good whisky "to your health," I said.

"No. wait," he said, "I have one better. Here's to a newfound and unlikely friendship."

I got a lump in my throat as he said this. He counted me among his friends. The feeling was exhilarating; I had never felt this way before. A pleasant heat spread from my chest to the rest of my body. It was almost like there were glowing embers in my gut.

"I will certainly drink to that" I said with a big smile on my face. "Here's to newfound friendship."

* * *

**Comment:**

Please let me know what you liked and, even more importantly, what you did not like.  
This is a first pass chapter and they will all be revised, and to do that I would love some feedback so that I get a sense of where I am.  
No need to justify or explain your opinion.

So leave a feedback and press the submit button.


	4. Agreement

**Agreement **

The next day I woke up to the sound of birds singing. The storm had passed and the skies where, if not free of clouds, definitely more pleasant. Nate was still sleeping heavy. It was obvious from the night before that while I liked to taste whisky he liked to drink it. The bottle was nearly empty and all the food was gone. I thought about going to get some food, but I quickly dismissed the idea. If Nate woke up and I was gone, what would he believe?

I picked up the phone and asked if it was possible to get some breakfast brought to the room. And as I had hoped the friendly voice at the other end was more than happy to help me out. I waited in the chair by the door, so that I could just get the food without Nate waking up. It did not take long for the breakfast to arrive. I placed the food on the desk and set down with a magazine I found in the shelf while I waited for Nate to wake up.

It took longer than I thought; the clock was close to ten before he finally started moving and grunting. Suddenly he was sitting upright in the bed, looking confused around the room.

"Good morning," I said. "I let you sleep, I thought you might need it."

He did not answer straight away. He just held his head in his hands and sort of rocked back and forth a bit on the bed. Then he broke the silence "Ah, my head. Must have been quite a party I guess. So it was true and not a dream? You I mean."

"Oh, I am still here, and will be for as long as you need me." I answered truthfully.

He chuckled a reply "well, since you are here. Could you please give me some water and an aspirin if we have one?"

I smiled while I found a glass and filled it with ice water from the mug we had gotten with the breakfast. "Of course, here you go. I do not think we have any Aspirin though. Human medicine is not used much by us souls. But I have a first aid kit in the car, I'll go get it." I walked to the door and opened it. "Oh, and by the way, I had some breakfast brought to us. It's on the desk. Feel free to start without me."

I walked out and just before I closed the door I heard. "You are indeed a savior. Thank you."

"You are welcome," I said, but mostly to myself. I had found a purpose now, a purpose other than serving the soul community that was to blame for this wrong doing. I was now serving my consciousness. I would be doing what was right instead of what was expected of me. Again I felt the special warm feeling in my body. I could get used to this. I felt good.

I got the first aid kit from the car and went back to the room, making sure I knocked and announced my presence to avoid unsettling Nate. Well inside I put the first aid kit on the desk and opened it to find the box with No-Pain.

"Here, put one of these tissues on your tongue. It will take away your pain."

He looked skeptical "so no aspirin then? How do we know this will work for me, and not only for you?"

I tried to explain it to him. "We feel and experience what our bodies do, if our host body has a headache we feel it. So our medicine works on the host body rather than on the soul itself. That means it will work for you too." My explanation did help somewhat, but he was still uncertain. "Look, I'll take one too. Not that I need it, but it does no harm either." I put one on my tongue and it dissolved. I did not feel much different, but the intention was only to show Nate that it would do no harm. "Here" I said and handed him one as well.

"So, here I am, in a cheap motel being drugged by an alien? Hmmm, well, all right, but only because you are the nicest alien I have met." He put the no-pain on his tongue and let it dissolve like I had shown him. It took only about ten seconds for the no-pain to do its work.

"Wow that is some good stuff. They should sell this at all the stores."

I grinned, "Well, it is available at the healer facilities." I wanted to make conversation, but then realized the significance of the healer facilities. I looked at the floor between my legs and added with a more sober tone "But, I understand why you would stay away from those. I am sorry. I did not mean to upset you."

He lowered his head so that I should see he was trying to get eye contact with me. I looked up and into a pair of brown eyes full of mourning, but also comfort. "Look Burns don't worry about it. Now we have you to get us stuff like this. That is if you want to, I would hate to take advantage of you."

Us? That was the first time he had mentioned that he might not be alone. "I will do what I can for you. And getting medicine for you is easy for me. I can just ask for it. I can ask for anything, anything you need. We could supply a small town like that" the scope of what I was actually capable of came to me while I spoke. And I saw that he had realized it too at the same time. His eyes where practically glowing with excitement.

"You can get anything you need, just like that?" it was not so much a question as an attempt to confirm his suspicion.

"Yes. Almost anything you want. But if we were to get supplies for more people we would have to spread our purchases a bit. We souls are not suspicious by nature, but even we do notice when someone tries to feed an entire small town on one shopping trip"

Nate just sat nodding now. Then it came, the question I should have known would come. But it had not touched my mind at all.

"How about weapons?" He asked.

"NO!" I almost shouted. Nate jerked back. I continued in a milder tone of voice trying to correct my obvious dislike for the question. There was no disguising it though. I did hate the question.

"No, I am sorry, but I cannot get weapons. And even if I could, I would not be comfortable with it."

He seemed to quickly gather himself again. "Oh well, too bad. But I understand you on this." It was clear that he saw even more than he was saying.

"Also, I will never be able to hurt any soul, or human, even if my very life depends on it. I am just not capable of violence."

Nate was back to nodding again. "Yes, I understood that too. No problem Burns, I will try to not ask you for anything you do not want to do. And when I do, you are free to say no. I am grateful for anything you _will_ do."

I was glad, but also somehow sad that I could not give him everything. I simply said "Thank you."

Then he touched my shoulder with a friendly confirming grip. "No problem I fully understand the problems this might pose for you. But seeing as you already have supplied us here, let's eat."

We finished the breakfast in short time, the food, again, was excellent and the staff had really made a fantastic meal for us. This was not something that Nate was used to, I could see that. He had to stay below the radar, so he never ordered anything. He would just stretch himself to pick the shelves at stores and hiding the goods to walk out. He had taken a risk by staying at the Inn that day. Could be to hide out from the weather, I had really no idea. He would tell it himself in his own good time.

When it became time to pack up and leave we had to decide what to do next. I still had my work back east, but I could always reassign further west, or switch jobs completely. It was not uncommon for a soul to pursue the inner calling and go into a branch where the work catered more to the interests of the soul.

Nate was the one to bring it up, and I was glad he did. "So, I guess it's time for us to leave this place. Where do we go from here?"

I looked up and into questioning eyes. "I will try to help you the best I can. You could come with me? I have room in the car."

"I have my own, the old Suburban in the lot. I was on a supply run when the weather hit. That's why I stopped here. I booked the room from the manager himself. Not exactly a suspicious guy."

As I thought, "We souls are not suspicious by nature. We trust others to tell the truth, so there is no need for suspicion."

"Must be a strange society, you pay for nothing, you suspect nothing and you are all so over the top polite with each other. How you could take over a world is beyond me."

There was a point to this, we souls where flimsy creatures on our own. So timid even in our hosts that it would only be possible to accomplish something like that in great numbers. But "There are the seekers; they are not like the rest of us. They are trained to be suspicious and investigative. They are the closest thing we have to an army. And even they are far from it in your eyes." Even our seekers were not really aggressive beings seen through human eyes, but they were covert and stealthy at first until our numbers where greater than the humans. Now they simply looked for the few remaining humans. And not with the same intensity any more either, this invasion was concluded and irreversible now.

"Yes, but you can fool those seekers easily it seems. And that may be a big help to us."

Again, I saw that hope lit up his face, the look of a condemned man that had gotten a reprieve. With new hope of being rescued. With the new hope of being able to rescue others.

"It is time to get out of here. Will you come with me? There are some people I would like you to meet." He grinned from ear to ear.

"Of course I will. I will go and check us out right now." I was eager to go now, eager to see more of my future and the friends in it.

"It's not like we need to pack anything." Nate said, "I'll meet you out by the cars." He was moving to get up. "Just don't forget the first aid kit" I said. "I have a feeling you could use it."

I went out the door and directly to the reception. The manager was not in, but I conveyed my gratitude for the excellent service, the good food and in particular the whisky. The clerk reached behind the desk and handed me another bottle, just like the one we had gotten the day before.

"Sounds of Closeness told me to give this to you if you mentioned the whisky. He said there isn't much of a demand for it now. He wants the ones that appreciate it to have it."

"Give Sounds of Closeness my best and thank him for me for this extraordinary gift."

"I will do that, he is only too glad to be able to share something that is appreciated."

I smiled and nodded, I could really like this one. Then I said my goodbyes and headed for the cars.

* * *

**Comment:**

Please let me know what you liked and, even more importantly, what you did not like.  
This is a first pass chapter and they will all be revised, and to do that I would love some feedback so that I get a sense of where I am.  
No need to justify or explain your opinion.

So leave a feedback and press the submit button.


	5. Rendezvous

**Rendezvous**

Nate was leaning nonchalantly on his old white Suburban. A brute of a car compared to my small hybrid. He was wearing a cowboy hat and shades, and was that a straw in his mouth?

He took out the straw, opened the car door and waved at me. I had not known Nate for long, but I already understood that it was typical of him to be so sure of himself, no wonder no soul had suspected him when he got here. Why would they, he acted completely natural.

"Hi, let's go, if you just follow me for a while we will get there in a couple of hours."  
He hopped into the car.

"Sure, I won't be far behind." I said while getting into my own car.

We drove off, passed the gas station and turned onto the I-20 heading west. He made it easy to follow him and the weather was clear so that I could hold a respectable distance to him. What would be waiting for me when we got to where we were going? What would Nate's friends think about me? I hoped I could persuade them all of my honest intentions, but we would see. I pondered about the possible outcomes, not all of them ending well for me.

After an hour or so when we had passed Monroe we left the I-20 at exit 108 and followed the LA546S towards Cheniere. After another hour we got on HW84 and drove through Winnfield. I was starting to wonder if we were far off now. Nate had said a couple of hours and I was starting to get excited. There was nothing but trees and the road to be seen now.

Then Nate signaled that he was taking an exit to the right. He almost disappeared among the trees when he left the main road. I hit the accelerator so that I could close the distance a bit. We were obviously getting close to our destination now. I found him again when I also took the exit, but I still closed the gap, not wanting to lose him in the dense forest. After five more minutes the asphalt gave way to a dirt road and we continued on that for another five minutes. I saw the brake lights come on and Nate stopped in the middle of the road. He jumped out and motioned me to come up to where he was.

"Is this the place?" I was puzzled.

"No, but we will leave your car here. You can park there between those trees and we will cover it in case someone comes snooping around here. You'll drive with me on this last stretch."

I did as Nate had told me and drove the car in between some trees, going well off the road, but the ground was still even and firm. I got out of the car and helped Nate cover my car with branches.

"This is one of our hidden parking lots." He smirked, "no one would look for a car here. You souls aren't really that much of the camping variety."

I had to chuckle a bit, it was entirely true, I had a tent with me in the car, but I had no intention of ever using it.

"Should we bring any of the stuff from my car?" I asked.

"Nah, we can get that later. Right now I bet everyone is exited to meet you, even though they do not know you are coming. We had better put on a show for them." He looked like he was thinking hard, and I wasn't really sure I liked the expression he had.

"Show?" I asked.

"Yes, it would not be safe for you to just come wandering up to these people. They are not too fond of your kind. We need to make them feel like they have nothing to fear from you." He still had the thinking expression.

"But they do not have anything to fear from me."

"Yeah, I know, but trust me on this. If they do not feel safe from you then you are not safe from them."

That was weird, why would the belief that I was dangerous be a danger to me? But I would trust Nate, he did have the knowledge about these things. "Ok, so what do we do?"

"Hold out your hands." He found a rope in the car and started to tie up my arms. "Now this should make them feel secure. But I will leave it to you to hold onto the ends of the rope. That way, if things should go badly you can untie yourself quickly." He stuck one end of the rope in my palm and clenched my fist around it. "Here you go. Now let's get in the car."

We drove another ten minutes before Nate drove the car in between some trees, like we had done with my car. "Here we are. Don't be alarmed, but I might have to bully you a bit as part of the act."

"Thank you for warning me." I said. Not really sure I liked where this was going, but Nate had given me the possibility to run if anything should happen. I hoped I would not need to do it, because I would not have any way of finding my way out of these woods on foot.

Nate stepped out of the car and came around to the passenger side. He opened the door and commanded me out with a tone quite a bit harsher than the one he had used just 20 seconds ago.

"Get out here."

I simply did as I was told and eased out of the car while keeping my hands tied.

"Ok, let's go. Still a bit further to go." He leaned into the car to get the first aid kit and then he pushed me along. Not too brusque, but to anyone watching it would probably look like Nate was totally in control.

We walked like this for a good half an hour at least until we arrived at a small log cabin. He knocked the door gently and in a normal voice said "Kim? Evan? I'm home, and I've brought a surprise for you."

There was no immediate response from anyone, but we opened the door and Nate pushed me in. I almost fell, but managed to steady myself on a chair. Why was he so brutal suddenly? Could he not convince the others without putting on this show as he had called it?

The cabin wasn't much more on the inside than on the outside. A wood burning stove on one of the short walls. The long back wall had a bunk bed. In the middle of the room was a table with four chairs. One of them the one I had braced myself on. And that was about it.

"Yes, welcome to our humble abode. Take a seat soul. Ok guys, you can come out now, I know you're there."

I heard a clicking sound from one of the corners and saw a gun being placed on the bed and from under that bed a young woman rolled out and jumped to her feet. She was maybe 23-25 years old. Her hair was chestnut reddish brown and her eyes glimmering blue, even in the darkness of the cabin. She smiled a broad smile and dimples formed on her cheeks. But the smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"What took you so long Nate? You know we need some medicine badly. Evan hasn't exactly gotten any better since you left."

That's when I saw the man in the corner of the cabin. The guy that had placed the gun on the bed. She was right. He did not look too good. He could be in his thirties perhaps? He had raven black hair and a goatee and a four day stud. His eyes looked almost as black as his hair. He was quite pale and I could barely make out sweat beads on his forehead. He limped over to the bed and sat down. "And you brought along one of _them_?" she almost spat the words out of her mouth, like she had tasted bile and wanted the flavor gone.

"Yes, I think he can help. He knows how to use their medicine." Nate proceeded to put the first aid kit on the table.

"Well, even if he does know how, why would he help us? We are humans. Less than animals to them." She looked at me and her face was filled with anger and hate. I had never seen such an expression before. I was scared she would just attack me right there and then.

"Burns, meet my sister Kim. Kim, this is Burns and he will help us because I will ask him nicely."

I argued with myself if I should follow politeness and tell her it was nice to meet her. But right then I did not think that would be entirely honest. So I just kept my mouth shut.

"You actually know its name? Did you ask nicely about that too?" She was still seething with anger, but there were also traces of uncertainty and concern on her face now.

Nate simply started smiling at her and she looked even more confused. "No, I did not have to. He told me when we first met. We shared a room at an Inn tonight."

Her Expression changed to that of horror now. "You shared a room with it, at an Inn? What were you doing at an inn?" she was almost in his face now and totally ignoring me. Even Nate was uncomfortable with this questioning. It was almost as if being at the Inn in the first place was as bad as meeting me there.

"Look, I was surprised by the weather and the Inn was right there looking all inviting and stuff. No one suspected me at all. That's why Burns here got put up with me. They thought I was one of them."

She glanced over at me, hate still glowing in her face. "And why did you not simply kill it? Why drag it out here and show it our hide out?" A spur of curiosity was cracking the spite in her voice now.

Nate noticed too and he took the opportunity to answer and baffle her. "I could not harm Burns because he can use their medicine to help Evan. And by the way he saved me from a pack of eager seekers." _So there_, all tough he did not say it the statement hung in the air. Pack of eager seekers? That was quite an exaggeration.

Evan grunted from the bed "Saved you from the seekers?"

Kim was just suddenly silent, her mouth hung open, this would not last long I suspected. "Yes, he saved me by pretending to be my friend. He told me what to do to fool the seekers. And it worked like a charm."

Nate was boasting now on my behalf. And I could barely make out a cautious smile coming to the face of the guy on the bed, Evan. "I'll be damned, never thought I'd hear of something like that happening."

Kim seemed to come to her senses again. "It's fooling you. Can't you see?" Fingers pointed at Nate now, and then she threw her arms out in a desperate gesture. "He just sent away his buddies so that you would take him with you to us. They are probably surrounding the cabin right now."

Nate was calm and on top now, the support from Evan was obviously welcome and a boost in confidence. "No, no one is surrounding the cabin. Burns didn't know anything about you guys at all until we arrived here. So had there been any foul play he would just leave me with the seekers yesterday. They would know about you guys that way. So actually he saved you guys too."

Kim was just staring at him in disbelief now. "No, I don't believe it." She said.

"Look pumpkin, I know how you feel. But Burns and I have talked quite a bit. And I believe him." He pointed at me as to confirm he was talking about me. "Now, if you are done arguing we could perhaps let Burns look at Evans injuries?"

Kim was still shaking in discomfort of having me around. I could understand her for feeling that way. If only I could convince her like I had Nate, and ease her pain.

"I wouldn't mind some attention at all. I don't care as long as I get better." Evan obviously had great faith in Nate.

"Kim, why don't you find the light so that Burns can see what he is doing?" Kim stomped like an angry child, but she found an electric light and turned it on.

"Burns, could you please see what you can do about Evans injuries?" He looked confidently at me.

I nodded, but I also motioned to my tied hands.

"Oh that, I think play time is over. Why don't you just take of that silly rope and go help Evan?"

"I will do my best." I said while letting the rope end go and slipping the rest of the rope over my wrist.

Kim was silently pronouncing an _O_ again as her jaw was halfway to the floor.

I grabbed the first aid kit from the table in front of her and took it to Evan. I moved slowly to avoid startling anyone. Evan also looked amazed and looked to me and then to Nate and back to me again.

Nate was just amused, I could tell.

"Sir, if you would please show me the problem I will see what we can do about it." I said.

Evan hesitated a few seconds, but soon lay back on the bed and removed the pants to reveal a good-sized gash in his left thigh. "So doc, what is the verdict." He said. Was that a joke? I was too strung out to decide.

"I am not a healer." I said apologetically. "But this does not look good. I think we need most of the inside clean and clean from the kit for this."

He looked puzzled and mumbled "clean uh, ok?"

"Yes, it will kill of any infection you may have." I found the inside clean in the kit and held it up. "Please, you need to inhale this."

A gasp from Kim "He is poisoning him!" she screamed and came towards me. Nate grabbed her arm and held her firmly while she struggled to get free.

"Look he will not harm Evan. He is trying to help him, just let him will you?"

"There is nothing dangerous in our medicine." I looked at her, if only I could make her see. She was tormenting herself with her fantasies of the worst that could happen. "Please believe me. I do not know how I can convince you… Look." I sprayed a small dose of the inside clean in front of my own face and inhaled. She relaxed a bit in her brother's grip, but still looked uncomfortable with the situation.

"Look." Evan said. "If you are done assuring our hysterical roommate I wouldn't mind trying out that stuff myself."

Nate chuckled at the comment and Kim was just surprised.

"Ok Sir." I said. "I think we need to do a couple of dozes. That wound doesn't look good. Inflamed too I would think." I sprayed the inside clean in front of his face and he inhaled vigorously. Then we repeated the procedure.

"Oh, it tingles." He said with an amused smile.

"Yes, I thought it was infected. And now for the Clean." I sprayed the Clean directly on his wound in generous amounts.

"Whoa, now that stung a bit."

Kim was again worried and let out a little yelp.

"Don't worry Kim." He said. "It feels like someone dashed the wound with anti bac. Nothing more."

"That's not very far from the truth either." I said. Now for the Heal. I smeared the Heal on the wound and held the edges together. His skin seemed to melt together as it was healing. "Almost there now, we should perhaps clean up a bit." I found the canister with Smooth and sprayed the scar lightly. The skin flattened and stretched to form a perfectly smooth surface. "Our medicine does exactly what it says on the label." I said. "So, how do you feel?"

"I feel great Doc. That was amazing."

Kim seemed amazed too.

"See? I told you so. You can trust Burns. I consider him a friend all ready and so should you." Nate nodded with smile. "Meeting him may be the best thing that happened to our little group."

"Sure did a good job on my wound here." Evan patted his leg smiling. "thank you. Burns was it?"

I felt good again, right to my bones. Being appreciated even though I was what I was. "No problem, I am glad to finally be able to help. As for Burns, Nate came up with that. My full name is Burns Living Flowers. But Burns feels better."

Evan nodded.

Nate chimed in. "that full name is a mouthful so I shortened it, Burns sounds more human too."

Kim was also able to speak again now "Does it really matter? It can't stay here with us. And we can't let it go. You have jeopardized us all by bringing it here. I don't care if it plays nice, I don't trust it." She had her arms crossed over her chest and was building up rage again, rage fed by fear.

I looked her straight in the eyes and I could see she winced when she saw the glimmers of my soul. "I am sorry you feel that way. I am sorry for everything our kind has done here. But I am only one single Soul. I can change only a small part of the world. I will do whatever I can to save as many humans as I can. I cannot make you believe in me." I looked down. "But I hope you will find a way."

Nate spoke next. "Look Kim, I trust Burns, he has already saved me once. And we did a lot of talking last night. He answered all my questions honestly and also told me a lot of other things." He gestured towards the bed. "And he saved Evan too, that wound would have killed him if it had not been treated."

Evans voice rumbled from the bed, he was sitting now. "I feel a lot better now, ready to take on the world. And if Nate trusts him I do too."

Kim stomped her feet again. "Very well, but you watch it. And don't let it near me you hear?"

"We can do that." Nate answered assuring her. "But, we have enjoyed ourselves enough for now, me and Burns could use some help getting the stuff from the car." He rose from the chair and went to the door. "So are you all coming?"

"Sure, I could lift a horse now." Evan certainly seemed a lot better than when I first saw him.

"Ok, I'll come too. But like I said, keep it away from me." Kim went out the door and me and Evan followed.

"Ok then Kim, you lead the way, will you." Nate said.

Kim took the lead, Nate followed with me and Evan was last. We got to the car and took as much as we could carry. There wasn't much left, but one of us had to go back.

"I'll go back for the rest." Nate said. "Now, I'm leaving Burns here with you. So you guys treat him nice now. Perhaps he could teach you a bit or two about manners Kim?" Without waiting for an answer he was off again.

"Then I'll make some dinner for us." Evan said and went to the kitchenette on the far short wall.

Kim sat herself on the bed and I returned to the chair at the table.

"Burns Living Flowers eh? Now why would you get a name like that?" Evan obviously wanted a conversation, something to lighten the mood a bit. Perhaps like the soul at the gas station they really felt lonely out here.

"It is the thing I am most ashamed, sad and sorry about." I answered him honestly. And then I told them all about Fire World and the horrible truth of my actions there. I also told them that that was the reason I had doubts about the classification of this world and that it was wrong to take it over.

Kim was leaning forward now. Her elbows planted on her knees her hands together under her chin.

Curiosity must have overpowered her because suddenly she broke her silence. "So basically you let your host die so that you could get away from there and go somewhere else?"

"Yes, in a way. I was hoping for them to find an alternative food source of course, but I was never going to stay there. The pain and shame was too great for that."

She simply nodded as an answer, still apprehensive, but her face had a milder expression now.

"That's a good story Burns." Evan chimed in from the far end of the room. "Even if you think it is painful it does tell something about you."

I nodded in agreement and I noticed Kim did the same.

Nate had taken his time getting the last of the supplies, but finally he came back.

"You're just in time for dinner." Evan said, and started setting the table.

"It smells delicious Evan. So did anything happen here while I was away?" He sat down by the table on my right side.

"Burns is good at telling stories." Evan said while getting the last of the casseroles.

"He sure is." Kim said while stealing the chair directly opposite me, to Nate's surprised amusement.

Kim still stared at me, but the fear in her eyes was almost gone and replaced with curiosity now. And she referred to me as 'he'. I felt the warmth again. She did not torment herself anymore, and for that I was glad. Nate noticed also.

"Well, I am certainly glad you two are getting along. Things could get difficult otherwise." He was looking down at his plate. He was obviously thinking about the outcomes of that other eventuality.

"If you say we can trust him I will try. I just hope you are right brother." Kim said.

Evan sat down too. "Well? Are you guys going to let the food get cold? Dig inn."

We ate, and the mood improved all over. Nate told the others about our evening meal the day before and it was not difficult to tell that the others envied him that meal.

"When Burns here joins us full time we could just order to go." Evan said, and we all laughed.

Even Kim chuckled a little at the idea.

"Yes, what do you say?" Nate asked me. "About joining us full time?"

I was surprised by the offer. For to me it was an offer. "There is nothing I would want more than to be with you and help you. You know that Nate. But at the same time I should wrap up some stuff back east. So that no one will come looking for me." I was thinking about Geoff, and the souls at work. They would notice if I did not return from my trip. Better to announce that I was moving than have a worried soul call the seekers and report me missing.

"That sounds like a plan." Nate said. "But let's not worry about that tonight. Tonight we will simply celebrate newfound friendship." He made a toast with his water glass.

"Hear, hear" Evan accompanied.

"And may it be a habit." I said.

Kim hesitated a bit, but raised her glass to ours. "To newfound opportunities… I cannot wait for that restaurant meal. Evan's cooking stinks." She said while poking Evan in the ribs with her left hand.

We all laughed. Apparently Evan took the comment lightly.

Kim added, "I hope you are for real Burns. We could really need a break here." She looked at me again, tears in her eyes. I saw it took a lot from her to admit this.

I looked into her eyes. "I am for real Kim, and I will prove it to you every chance I get."

She leaned forward and took my hand. "Thank you." She said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Thank you." She was sobbing now and leaned into Evan that patted her head while she cried into his shoulder.

Nate whispered to me. "It looks to me like she has accepted you. This is very good for her." His voice was raising to normal level now. "She has kept this inside for some time now, always acting tough as flint, Ever since our baby sister was taken." I could see he was moved as well, but he managed to hold his face. "Everyone needs to admit their own feelings some times."

There was no doubt Kim heard Nate, because her crying increased in intensity. But she did not protest or object. And Evan just held around her, patting her hair, and tried to soothe her as best he could.

We did not say anything for a while. This was Kim's time. She needed to get this out of her system. We just watched in silence until the crying subsided and sobs replaced it.

Nate put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you feel better Kim?"

The reply was barely audible. "Yes, better now."

He patted her shoulder a couple of times. "Take your time Kim. Take your time."

We finished eating and we all talked into the night. Mostly they wanted to know about me and about the souls that had taken over their world. They did not talk much about themselves, not wanting to upset Kim again I guessed. And that was ok. This was my new family no matter how they had met.

Finally Nate rounded off the night and told us to get some sleep. Kim and Evan took one level of the bunk bed each and Nate found a couple of mattresses that he threw on the floor. "I am sorry about the accommodation, but this is what I have to offer you for the night."

"That is just fine." I said. "I was afraid I had to sleep on the floor."

He chuckled. "We aren't barbarians. We like our comfort." He crouched up on the mattress closest to the door with the gun next to him.

I curled up on the mattress closest to the beds and made sure I was as far away from the gun as possible in the confined space. "G'night everyone." Nate said, but only I replied. Evan and Kim were already far gone. And I followed shortly after.

* * *

**Comment:**

Please let me know what you liked and, even more importantly, what you did not like.  
This is a first pass chapter and they will all be revised, and to do that I would love some feedback so that I get a sense of where I am.  
No need to justify or explain your opinion.

So leave a feedback and press the submit button.


	6. Good byes

**Good byes**

The next day greeted us with sunlight through the windows. Kim must have got up first, because I was greeted by the most heartwarming smile I had ever seen when I woke up. All the reservations were gone from her now. I was obviously the new focus of her curiosity. '

"Oh hi there Burns. Did I wake you?" She asked innocently enough, but I suspected she had poked me awake.

"Oh, uh, I do not think so." I said. Not a lie really, I did not think so. I only suspected so and one could not go around accusing anyone of doing what you only suspected?

"Coffee?" She handed me a mug of the black drink.

"Yes please." I put my hand out and she put the mug in my hand "Thank you."

She motioned me to get up. "Come, there is something I would like to show you." She went to the door.

What did she have in mind? I had no idea, but not wanting to disappoint her I followed.

"Look… Over there." She pointed out into the woods. "Between those trees, just by the bush. Do you see it?"

My eyes were still not quite adjusted to the daylight, but I did believe I saw something. A brownish shape, it was certainly not a tree or a bush.

"It's a deer." She said. "They often come by this way on the way to or from the creek back here. That's where they drink."

The brown shape suddenly darted away, and I saw it clearly in the few seconds before it vanished. "That is beautiful." I said. "I have never seen anything like that."

She chuckled. "I thought that may be the case."

I looked at her. "Thank you for showing me this. It means a lot to me." And it did. I felt accepted now. I had a place where I belonged. The feeling of warmth returned, it was almost like my feet where leaving the ground. I did not know it was possible to feel this good.

She returned the look. "I know, and I know I was unfair to you yesterday. I did not see you for you. I saw your kind as a blurred mass. I guess you can be as different as we can be."

I looked down at my feet. "We can be different. Just like you. But I don't know of anyone that is as different as me… sadly."

She lifted my chin. "It's not your fault Burns, you can't be blamed for all the things your kind does. Only what _you _do. And so far you seem to be quite decent."

"Thank you, I only hope I one day can live up to your praise."

"Don't worry about that." She said. "I think you have done enough to earn it already. Saving both my brother and Evan in two days?" She had appreciation in her eyes now.

"You know your brother could probably have fixed Evan the same way?" I said.

She chuckled again. "Are you serious? My brother doesn't know up from down on a can of beans. There's no way he would know how to handle that kit."

Suddenly a voice came from inside the cabin. "I let him in and you guys are standing here the very next day talking behind my back?" His words were cause for concern, but his tone was not.

Kim laughed. "Good morning brother, I just showed Burns a deer."

"And she made me coffee too." I added.

"Ah, so you are the morning pet today. How about that Siss? Can I get a cup as well?" Nate asked.

"Sure, the pot is on the stove, help yourself."

He grumbled a reply about new tenants and self-service.

I could not quite hear what he said. But Kim smiled so it couldn't be all bad.

"My kind is not very good with subtle humor." I said, mostly as an observation to myself.

"I see that, but we will help you with that shortcoming." Kim said giggling.

Nate roared. "Evan, it's time to wake up. The coffee is ready and I want breakfast."

Evan grunted that he was awake. But he did not sound at all convincing.

I turned to Kim "Why can't Nate just make breakfast himself?"

She looked at me amused. "No way, I would not want to die from food poisoning. Nate is an even worse cook than Evan. All Nate can make is pasta, and he usually ends up burning most of it."

Even I had to laugh.

Breakfast was served by a tired, but otherwise ok, Evan.

"So what do we do now?" Nate said. "You said something about taking care of some things back east?"

I looked up from my plate. "Yes, there are some ties that should be cut, and I need to resign my job. After that I will be back. Should only be a couple of weeks." I said.

"Are you sure you want to do this for us? You could always just go back to your normal life. I wouldn't blame you one bit."

I put my hand affirming on his shoulder as he had done with me. "Home is where the heart is, and my heart belongs with you guys now."

He smiled one of his wide smiles. "Good. Then I suggest that you meet us here in three weeks, let's say on Friday, around noon?"

"That sounds perfect." I said.

"Well that settles it then." Nate seemed pleased with the outcome of our little talk.

We finished eating and they all followed me to the car. I got a good handshake from Evan to see me off, and from Kim I even got a hug.

"Be back soon." She said.  
Nate drove me to my own car. We decided to move all the supplies I had packed for my trip over to his car. They had much more use for it than me. Then we said goodbye and I even got a hug from Nate as well. I left him there, feeling good for being accepted, but bad for having to leave them like this. "Three weeks, on Friday" I said to myself, only "three weeks."

The trip home was uneventful, I drove the seventeen hour journey with only one stop and when I got to the house I crashed on the bed and slept for twelve hours straight. I woke up at three in the afternoon. Not enough time to go to work and hand in my resignation, but I could talk to Geoff today and get that out of the way.

I called him up and invited him for dinner. He naturally wondered why I was back so soon, but I said we would talk over dinner.

That taken care of I took a shower and went to the store to pick up the ingredients for one of Geoff's favorites. There would be no time for stew so I got a tender steak. He would arrive at seven so I had just enough time. All the ingredients taken care of I went home and started cooking. The reader was mounted on a kitchen cabinet for recipes so I used it to look for vacant property in the area where Nate and the rest where, and I found one almost immediately.

It was a remote farmhouse not too far from Mount Pleasant. It was not easily seen from any of the neighbors. A place where almost no soul would live, that must be why it was available. I sent a message to the handler that I would take the property and the answer was with me before ten minutes had passed. He seemed eager to sign over the property. So I agreed to come out and sign as soon as I could.

Geoff came by precisely at seven. I was sad that I had to leave him. Part of me wished he could come along. But I quickly discarded the idea. I knew it would be impossible.

"Welcome my friend. I am glad you could come on such short notice." I greeted him with an embrace.

"Always for a friend." He said. "And it's not like I had any other plans either. Thank you for the invitation."

"Please come in, I have the dinner ready."

He hung up his coat and hat and placed the walking stick in the umbrella rack. I was always fascinated by the dignity and style he possessed. It was not put on for show. It was his being to the core. He came and sat opposite of me on my small dining table.

"So, how was your trip?" he asked.

I served myself and answered. "The trip was wonderful. This truly is a beautiful world. And the things in it are really fascinating. Would you know I even saw a deer?" I poured some wine for him.

"Thank you. A deer? that sounds marvelous. Maybe I should go on such a trip once, it's not like there's much work for me here anymore. There are no new souls to comfort here."

"You should. You definitely should. Oh, and I found this one for you." I handed him the bottle of Whisky that I got at the Inn.

"Well I must say... Thank you so much. This is a good one, didn't think there were any more of this one. It really is too much." He motioned to deny the gift.

But I would not have it. "I want you to have it. The one I got it from said he was happy to give it to someone that would know to appreciate it. And I know you will."

He nodded. "I sure will. Thank you so much."

We ate and had a good time. I told him about my trip, well, most of it. I even told him about meeting the seekers and about sharing the room with Nate. He did not know Nate was not a soul, so he did not ask anything I could not answer truthfully. Finally at the desert I had finished telling him all I was going to and got to the point.

"I found it so fascinating out there that I will be moving there."

He didn't really seem at all surprised. "Some change is always good. No point in being stuck in one place a whole life. It's not like we are rooted here. I have considered the same myself."

Now it was my turn to be surprised.

"They say California is really nice. There is a vineyard in Napa that I have my eyes on. It's a cooperative, I just didn't know how to tell you." His eyes brightened and the smile was as wide as ever.

"That is great." I said. "Two souls one thought." We couldn't help but to laugh at the obvious pun.

"Here's to new adventures." He said and raised his glass.

I toasted with him. "To new adventures."

The evening had gone much better, and faster, than I had thought and by the time Geoff left we were both exited at the new lives we were making for ourselves. I hugged him good bye, it lasted longer than normal and neither of us wanted to let go. Even as excited as we were I could see his eyes were moist. And I could feel a lump in my throat to.

"Good bye my friend." I said, my voice nearly braking.

"Good bye friend, until we meet again." He said and put his hat on. Then he turned and walked away. I no longer felt the evening had gone smoothly. This was a whole lot harder than I had imagined.

I went to bed, but could not sleep. Last I remember looking at the time it was 4. But I must have dozed off then. I dreamt of a perfect world. A world were humans and souls would live together in peace and harmony. I suddenly woke up and looked at the time. Nine? Well time to get up and pay a visit to my manager.

The rest of the day went very well. I resigned my position and they allowed me to leave at once. They said it was no point in holding me from my new life and wished me luck.

I also stopped by Josh to say good bye. Every time I talked to him a sting of guilt jabbed at my spine. He did tell me something I was glad to hear though. His two youngest children, Adriana and Aurora, had not yet been occupied and they would never be. He and his partner loved them too much.

"What kind of souls would we be if we erased the ones we love to have them replaced with souls we do not even know?" He asked.

So there was hope for this world after all. Josh had echoed my dream and he did not even know it. If only more of us would feel this way I thought. I wished him good luck and headed out.

I had a whole new future in front of me, a new family and new friends, a new home. A true _home_, and not just a house.

I went to the car dealer and replaced my hybrid with a larger truck more suited for life in the farmlands. The to the store and I filled the truck with non-perishable supplies. Canned food and bottled water. Enough to feed a whole family or four. I did get questioning glances at the checkout, but no one asked me anything. I emptied the house of stuff I would bring with me. Nate would possibly like the collection of whiskies. I also took along all the books and the readers. I left the rest behind for the new occupants. Nothing I could not get in the local stores where I was going. Then the next day I got up early, left the house keys with the handler, and drove off, Eager to see my new home.


	7. New beginnings

**New beginnings**

Again, I took the long journey in two long hauls. It had only been seven days since I left Nate so I could not risk going there yet. Instead I just spent the night at a hotel in Mount Pleasant and met with the handler the day after. He showed me the property and I signed off on it. Glad to be rid of the land he left me there while I took the whole thing in.

Sure, this place was perfect. It could use a bit of restoration, but nothing much. The two story building was supported on a big basement. There was a big garage/outhouse and even a barnlike structure. There should be plenty of room here for my new family. And even a few more if we should find any.

"Just perfect" I said out loud. Still it would be a lonely couple of weeks.

First I assessed what needed to be done to make the house functional. And I figured Nate and Evan could help me a bit when they came here. But until they did I got some help from the hardware store in town. They had apprentices eager for a bit of actual work. So when the two weeks was up the work was mostly finished as well. Just a few finishing touches left here and there. And I had also gotten a few housewarming presents for my friends.

I thanked the apprentices and sent them on their way. Tomorrow I would go and see Nate and the others again. Thrilled at the thought I sat the rest of the evening and thought about eventual outcomes of tomorrow. In my mind most of them turned out good this time. I felt good inside, tomorrow I would meet my friends again. I went to bed early wanting the next day to come as quickly as possible.

I woke early the next morning. Not wanting to delay things any further at home I took off as soon as I had had breakfast. It was almost a four hour drive so the timing was perfect. I turned on the radio and the first song that came through the speakers was a song about brotherhood. Every verse ended with something about the sky falling down and "There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do". I found myself singing the text out loud. But I didn't mind, this song represented my feelings in some way so I just turned up the volume and sang out louder. Too bad the song was so short. I would have to look it up.

The trip was again uneventful. And the weather was great so I made good time reaching the cabin forty minutes before noon. It would have to do. I could not put it off anymore.

I hid the truck close to where Nate's Suburban was parked. And walked to the cabin, I wanted to run, but I did not want to startle anyone so I just kept going at a relaxed pace.

When I came to the cabin I knocked gently on the door. It was not locked and slid open when I knocked on it.

"Hello?" no one here? Had they left me? I had kept my promise. I was not really that early either, only twenty minutes to go. So what was wrong? I closed the door behind me and let my eyes adjust to the darkness inside the cabin. I scanned the cabin from wall to wall and that's when I saw it. The gun, Nate's gun, pointed directly at my chest. A shadow in the corner held onto it.

"Evan? Is that you? Where are the others?" I hoped it was Evan. "It's me Burns, I am here like I promised."

The shadow came into the light. The gun was slowly pointed down at the floor. It was Evan, and he looked a lot better than the last time we had had this encounter.

"Good to see you doc." He smiled. "Let me tell you there was a lot of nervousness about your return. You came alone right?"

Of course I came alone, did they doubt me already? "Yes, I am alone."

Evan sighed in relief. "We all thought so, but Nate wanted to take his precautions in case something had happened to you.

" So they were not really afraid of me, they were afraid something might have happened to me. I could understand that.

"I am fine and just like you remember." I smiled now, this was all a precaution. Nate was no fool.

Evan dropped the gun on the bed and shook my hand firmly putting the other hand on my shoulder. "Good. I will get the others. Why don't you just wait here?"

He went quickly out the door. And I was alone. It did not take long however. About ten minutes had passed when I heard them. Nate, Kim and Evan came in.

Nate tipped his hat at me. "Burns." He said, fitting I thought.

Kim came over and gave me a good squeeze and that warm feeling returned. They all sat down at the table with me.

"So what has happened since last we saw you?" Nate asked.

"Well, first I went back east and said good bye to my friends, then I quit my job and they let me go the same day. They did not want to come between me and my new life as they put it." I smiled at the thought.

"Well that was considerate of them." Nate nodded.

"Then I got a new truck." I said.

Nate acted shocked, but I did not think he was. "What? Did you trade in that practical little hybrid of yours?" he chuckled.

"Yes, well, I thought a decent size truck would be a better fit for my new family."

Nate nodded. "I would have to agree with that Burns. So that was all you did for three weeks?" He looked questioning at me.

"No it was not, I also got myself a new home just a four hour drive from here. It's the perfect size for guests." I couldn't help but grinning.

"Guests eh? Anyone particular you had in mind?" He held his face.

"Well I did think of you guys, but if you do not want a change from this cabin I could always see if I could find someone else." I was not very good at this humor thing, so I hoped he got it. But there was no reason to doubt it as all three of them chuckled now.

"Does that mean take away?" Evan said.

"And a warm shower?" Kim chimed in.

"hehehe, as much of both as you want. I had a new heater installed last week. It should be sufficient for a football stadium dressing room." I said.

Nate approved, I could tell. "How about privacy? This new place of yours, is it a hidden?"

I nodded. "It's secluded. Not as much as this place, but there you will have me as the doorkeeper. No one will suspect anything and If asked you are just friends from back east on a visit. You could come check it out?" I looked around the table. They all seemed eager to go.

"Can we Nate?" Kim looked at him.

Evan also voiced his wish. "Yes can we? We have been in this pit for far too long already. I am definitely ready for some change."

Finally Nate buckled "I do not see why not. And if we go now we could get there before it gets dark."

Kim and Evan cheered and gave each other high fives.

"But first." Nate said. And the mood in the room changed to anticipation. "But first, let's make lunch for our friend here. No point in leaving on an empty stomach."

Evan jumped up and went to the kitchenette to throw together something.

"He sure looks eager enough to get out of here." Nate could not hold it in and laughed out loud at Evans sudden new-found energy.

Kim looked at me, holding my hand again. "Thank you for doing this Burns, this means a lot to us."

My hands felt warm, and my insides were glowing. Her acceptance meant a lot to me. "Kim, it means as much to me to be able to help you in any way I can."

She did not let my hands go. "Well, thank you for wanting to help us then." She looked into my eyes. "Thank you for you."

I wanted to look away, but her intense eyes kept me locked to her gaze. "You are welcome." I managed to say.

Finally she released my hands and looked over at Evan. As if wanting him to hurry up. But Evan was already working as fast as he could. Nate kept silent. But he looked at me and winked. I did not understand what he was trying to say with that, but I did not dare to ask. It was probably something that any human would understand. I needed to get better at understanding humans.

Evan finished lunch in record time, and even though he had managed to burn it slightly it was still a good meal. A sort of final lunch feel. We finished eating in good time. And after washing the dishes we did not waste another moment. They all packed what little they had. And they were ready to leave in record time.

Nate laughed at the other two. "Take it easy guys or you will have an accident."

We left the cabin and Nate made sure all the windows and the door was shut firmly.

"You never know, this old cabin may still come in handy from time to time." He said. Trust Nate to think ahead.

When we got to the cars we divided, Evan would ride with me and Kim with Nate. Nate brought the guns, just in case, as he said. I hoped there would never ever be such a case. But better it was in his car than in mine.

"Ok, I will lead the way. Just stay back there. And if we should separate I will wait at the next gas station. And please, no speeding. That would be the only reason for the seekers to suspect anything."

Nate nodded affirming. "That sounds like good advice. We'll do it like that. See you there."

I started the car and we began the journey to our new home.

Fortunately Nate behaved and when we passed seeker cars on the highway there was no reason for them to stop us so we could continue. I signaled all my lane changes and exits clearly so that Nate should see where I was going, and we had no further problems.

When we arrived at the house I parked the car and checked that the house was indeed as I left it before I waved the others inside.

"So, here we are, welcome to our new humble home." I said as we started the tour. The first room after the hall was my bedroom; I thought it was best if I was close to the door in case of surprise visitors. The rest of the rooms on the ground floor were a large bath, the large open plan living room and kitchen and a couple of technical rooms.

"But it is upstairs that holds the most interesting rooms for you." I said as I led them up the stairs.

First we came to the upstairs bathroom. On the other side of the corridor a bedroom.

"Now this I thought would be a good room for one of you guys." I said to Nate and Evan. We passed two more doors. "Or these? They are basically the same, so I will leave it to you guys to fight among yourselves over the rooms you want. But this one, at the end of the corridor is Kim's room. It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." I said, suspecting they would not get the Shakespeare reference.

Nate and Evan looked questioning at me with a unison "Huh?"

I led hem into the largest bedroom in the house. There was plenty of closet space, and even a small bathroom accessible only from this room.

Kim seemed quite pleased with the accommodation. "Are you serious? This room is almost as big as the other bedrooms put together." She was jumping around the room. "No, the bathroom takes so much of the space that it's only as large as two of the other rooms."

She looked at me and poked my ribs. "You know what I mean. This is too big. I can't accept this."

Nate chimed in now. "Sure you can Kim. There is no reasonable way to use this space for anything else. It's all yours. I will not fight you for it. However I will fight Evan for that room across from the bathroom. That's mine." He said with a grin.

"Bah, you can have it." Evan said. "I will take the two next ones over that one."

Kim looked like she had fallen down from the moon. "Well, thank you guys, all of you. And thank you Burns. This room is perfect. And look at that bed! I have never had such a big bed!" she was ecstatic.

"And you haven't even looked inside the closets yet." I said. "Just think what you can use all that storage space for." I winked at her. It seemed to be something humans did when something should be obvious and it seemed fitting for the moment.

She opened up one of the closets. They were all full of clothes. "What, clothes, for me? How did you find them?" She started looking through the assortment.

"I went shopping, said I might get a visit from my cousin and the nice lady in the store was about your size. She helped me pick what was the fashion and what would fit."

Kim threw herself at me, one clothes hanger in each hand, and wrapped her arms around me. Tears were in her eyes again. "Thank you Burns, thank you thank you." She cried now and hugged me hard.

"I just thought you might need some new clothes. The guys have full closets too. I just hope they fit and that you like them."

"Like them? I love them, they are perfect." Kim sobbed against my shoulder like she had done with Evan. "I never thought we would ever get to live in a real house again." She said.

"Only the best for my friends." I answered.

She was still sobbing, but lighter now. She released her grip, let her arms fall down to hold my hands and looked into my eyes. "Thank you Burns."

I replied again. "You are welcome Kim. You deserve this, you deserve more, but we will work on that. You should really check out the bathroom also." I nodded in the direction of the bathroom.

She let go of my hands to go there.

I turned around "guys, perhaps you would like to… guys?" they were not standing in the door like I thought.

I went out into the corridor where I saw two open doors. I looked in the first one and found Evan outstretched on the bed. He seemed to like his new accommodation. In the second room I found Nate looking out the window at the landscape.

Without turning to face me he said. "I must say Burns, this here place is perfect. Both Kim and Evan love it already that is easy to see. And you don't think we will have any trouble with the neighbors?"

I walked over to him. "No, I already made the rounds to the neighbors. So there should be no surprises." I took in the view with him.

"We will be ok here." He said.

"I hope so." I said. "Tell the others to freshen up. I will go and get us some food. There is a great take away only ten or so minutes from here. I think Evan would like that."

I winked at him and Nate chuckled. "He sure will be glad for that."

Seems I had gotten the hang of a teeny bit of human communication.

I called the take away so they could prepare the dinner while I drove out there. And when I got there the food was already finished. So I put it in the back of the truck and drove back. I had done like when me and Nate were at the inn and ordered a bit of everything on the menu. Hopefully there would be something for everyone. When I got back I set the table. I could tell the others were still finishing up. So I took my time to do it properly. Evan was the first to come down the stairs, followed quickly by Nate.

"Wow, this looks like food for a whole family." Evan burst out.

"Yes it is." I said. "Our family."

Nate nodded in agreement. "Our family."

The guys sat down and I found something to drink for them. I had beer and soda, and even a bottle of red vine for anyone that would want that. We sat waiting for about ten more minutes before we heard steps in the stair.

"Girls, always take their time to get ready." Nate said.

Evan defended Kim. "She hasn't seen the inside of a real shower for a couple of years." He said, I think a soaking is well deserved.

She came into view and Evan whistled. "Wow girl, where did you get that outfit. You look super."

"Sure looks good on you Siss. Guess Burns here has got some taste." Nate looked at me and winked again.

Only I could not understand. I started. "It was the shop assistant that picked all the clothes. I…"

Nate laughed now. "Sshh man its ok; just tell her that she looks beautiful."

Ok, so that was how it worked. Like the others had done, complimented her appearance. That shouldn't be too hard, because she looked stunning.

"You look absolutely beautiful Kim. I am glad the clothes fit, but this. This I did not dare to believe, absolutely fantastic." I said.

Kim giggled a bit now. "Well thank you guys, I did not know you could be such gents. And thanks Burns all the clothes were amazing, even if you didn't pick them yourself." She sat down opposite me.

"Well as we are all seated I would take this opportunity to properly welcome you all here to our new home. If you want to stay that is. And I sincerely hope you will." I said looking at every one of them in turn.

They all nodded in agreement. "I think we can manage." Nate said.

"Now dig in, we don't want the food to get cold do we." I said with a grin.

This turned out to be a good evening. After dinner we went and sat outside, the weather was good and the company was better. I found a bottle of whisky for Nate and he shared it evenly among us all. It was good to have a family. I had never felt this way before in my earlier life, but these humans had a way of making these feelings come to the surface. I truly enjoyed myself and the others did too I was sure.

Kim danced to a classic from the player. It was a tune heavy with a violin solo. I had not heard this before. But she moved gracefully to the rhythm, really letting herself go. It was fascinating to watch as she twisted and twirled with movements I thought the body was incapable of, at least mine. I was mesmerized.

Then the song changed, the rhythm was not so graceful anymore, but apparently the guys also knew this one. Something about a cotton eye, I couldn't really make sense of it. Still heavy with violins though. Kim motioned for us to come and dance with her.

"Sure thing, I'll play" said Evan and jumped up. They hooked arms and spun around faster and faster, changing direction every once in a while. The song and drink seemed to affect them. We all laughed and when Evan and Kim fell into each other leaving them strewn across the patio they just continued to laugh. It was a good and healthy laugh. Void of any concern or worry. If only all our days could be like this I thought.


	8. Visited

**Visited**

We had a good couple of months in our new home. Nate and Evan scouted the area and made evacuation plans and noted where it was possible to hide if they should ever need to run from this place. I hoped it would never be necessary, but I agreed that it was smart to plan ahead for such an event. Evan didn't have to cook nearly as much now, since that was my domain.

Kim was also in a good mood, always whistling when she did her chores and when she was not. Everyday life seemed to have caught up with us and everything was peaceful.

We should have known that it was too good to last. And it was suddenly over for our part when a seeker patrol car came up the driveway. Nate ordered everyone upstairs, and I heard that they readied the guns.

"Please don't do anything that will attract their attention." I said. "I will try to make them go away."

As I said it the car stopped outside, right behind our own cars. I saw from the kitchen window two seekers exiting and coming towards the house. One of them was a tall blond man, the other one a smaller woman. She was slender with dark hair and complexion. I couldn't really place her origins.

_Here goes nothing_, I thought as I opened the door.

"Good morning seekers?" I asked in an enquiring tone. "I am Burns Living Flowers. And what brings you out this way?"

The seekers came closer and presented themselves. "I am Seeker Shadows of the Rain." The woman said. "And this is Seeker Monroe." He pointed at the man.

"How do you do?" Seeker Monroe said.

"I am doing ok, and you too I hope?" not really knowing what to say I had to improvise.

"We are just fine." Shadows of the Rain assured me. "We are looking for a fugitive, he escaped from our custody tonight so we are searching the nearby area."

"A fugitive?" I asked, trying not to show the relief I felt that they were not looking for our little family.

"Yes, a human managed to get away from us back in town, and he was last seen headed east. So that brings us here. Have you seen anyone acting suspiciously around here today?"

I almost laughed, but managed to hold it in, after all, this was not at all funny. "No Seeker, I have not seen anything suspicious today. No one ever comes up here usually, so I think I would have noticed if he had come this way. But feel free to check out the garage and the outhouses if you like."

Shadows of the Rain seemed content with the answer. "Thank you Sir, but you say you have been at home all day?"

I nodded. "Yes I have Seeker."

She looked over at Monroe. "It doesn't sound like he is around here either. I think we should look further south, on the other side of the I-30?" Monroe seemed to agree. "Well Sir, we are sorry for the inconvenience. It looks like we need to continue our search. Thank you so much for your cooperation in this matter. But if you do see him please call us at once."

"No problem Seeker and I will keep that in mind." I said.

They walked back to the car and left just as suddenly as they had come. I couldn't help it. I let out a sigh of relief. Then I just stood there for a moment making sure that they were actually gone before I went in the house and shouted upstairs that they had left. Nate came down almost at once and looked through the door window, still clutching his gun.

"You sure they're gone?" He said without turning from the window.

"I think so. There would be no more reason for them to stick around. They didn't even want to search the outhouses."

"Hmmm, just as well." He looked at me. "Did they say what they wanted?"

"Well yes, they are looking for a human, apparently he managed to get away some time tonight and was seen headed this way."

"Good for him. I wish there was some way we could help him out, but I'm not sure we could do a much better job of finding him than the seekers. He could be anywhere. It's like finding a needle in the haystack." He shrugged his shoulder. Then he stomped his right leg hard into the floor while making fists with his hands. "Damn! We should help him somehow."

I could see this really affected Nate, and I felt the same way too. Knowing there was a man out there, so close to us. And yet we would have no way to find him or guide him. He would probably stay low, hidden somewhere. And the seekers would soon give up the chase. It was not like a single human on the run caused that much of a threat.

Then it occurred to me. "Or maybe it's like finding the hay in a needlestack." I said.

Nate looked at me like I had turned mad. "What do you mean by that?" he said.

"Simple really, when this man is not hiding he will stick out. He will be dirty when everyone else is spotless. He will be nervous and avoid your gaze. No one else will act like that. Why would they, Souls do not shy from each other." I said. "Only humans shy from… well from us." I hated that last part. All of a sudden I was one of them. Only which them? I was in no man's land, with no true home, no true family. The family I wanted to be with was not really mine. And the family I had left behind, that was really mine, was no longer something I wanted any part of.

Nate must have seen my pain because he simply put a hand on my shoulder and looked me deep in the eyes. "Look Burns, I am human and I would never shy away from you. I know you, and quite frankly I wish I knew more Souls like you. That would mean there is hope for this world still." He squeezed my shoulder gently. "And of course, you are absolutely right. That guy will stick out like a sore thumb. And that may be his only hope." He looked down, obviously considering this opportunity.

Evan and Kim were also coming downstairs now.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kim demanded to know. "What did those seekers want?"

Nate turned to them. "Apparently there is a guy that has escaped from them, and they really want him back."

Kim seemed to take in what Nate had said. "A guy, you mean like… human?" She stared at him hoping for confirmation. And she got it.

"Yeah, sure, he's human alright." Nate answered.

Kim clapped her hands together. A single clap, she looked thrilled.

"Only problem now is how to find him though. But Burns gave me an idea there."

All of us focused on Nate now. This would be interesting.

We sat down at the kitchen table and Nate laid out his plan. Or rather his idea, for it was not much of a plan at all, only a desperate attempt at trying to save this helpless man. The chance of success was slim, but we couldn't just sit still while he was taken either. So we would split up. Evan would remain at the house and keep watch. Nate and I would take one truck each and take to the roads to see if we could find a man trying to avoid us, as weird as it sounded. Kim would go with me, and if we ran into seekers I would do the talking. And if we did happen to find the fugitive, she would convince him we were all human.

Evan went upstairs to use the windows there, that was the best vantage point we had. Not 360 degrees, but it would have to do. The rest of us went out to the cars, all of us with shades. Nate would search north of the I-30 to avoid the seekers, Kim and I would go south.

"See you back here in three hours." Kim said to Nate and we waved him off.

Then we drove off ourselves.

We went almost into town and then turned east. We drove through all the small byroads we could find, also the dirt roads between fields. We passed the seekers more than once. Kim did very well for herself, staying entirely calm the whole time. I could see she was sitting on her hands. But the seekers did not pay us any attention. They were not looking for a couple in a truck, but a man walking alone far from any house. As were we, but so far it seemed both theirs and our search was fruitless. After nearly three hours we gave up and headed for home. Just to get something to eat we assured each other.

When we got home we saw that Nate had only just beaten us there. He was just getting out of the Suburban when we arrived. He shrugged his shoulders and held his hands out in the air. So he had not found anything either. We were disappointed, but it was to be expected. We were looking for the hay in a needlestack, but it was a very big stack of needles.

Nate joined us as we exited the truck. "So no luck for you either then." He said and looked down at the dirt in the driveway.

"No luck." I said kicking the same dirt.

"We'll just get some food and then we will go back out to continue." Kim said, and Nate agreed with that idea.

"Yes, we'll do that." Nate said.

Evan appeared in the door now too. "So no luck?" he said.

"No such thing." Nate said sadly. "Ok, that's too bad. But come on inside. There's something I want to show you." Evan said waving us inside.

"Ok?" Nate couldn't help asking what we all felt. We were tired and hungry now, and not really ready for any games.

Evan led us into the living room. "look what I found rummaging through the fridge while you were gone." He pointed at a man sitting tied up on a kitchen chair. The man had very dark skin, his curly black hair was cut short and he was not very tall. Almost like a younger version of Geoff I thought, except for the eyes. There was no sign of a soul in them.

He did not look too happy either. "Let me go or I'll kill you all, alien monsters." We were all looking at the man in the chair with disbelief.

Evan raised his shoulders. "I had to tie him up. He would not believe that I was human. It wasn't pretty I tell you."

Nate laughed now. Kim didn't seem to know what to think. And I didn't either.

Nate addressed the new guy. "So while we were all over looking for you, you were here all along. Guess those seekers had it right when they came here first."

The man looked bewildered at Nate as he kneeled in front of him. "Look, we are human, just like you. No need to be concerned any more. I assure you that you are quite safe here." But he still looked scared to death. His eyes darted between us all, resting on no one.

"I am Nate. It's a pleasure to meet you. And what may we call you?"

The man looked at Nate, studying his eyes. "You may call me Rob." He finally said. "You are not aliens?"

"No, we are not." Nate answered reassuringly.

That's when Kim coughed. "Hmm, then there's Burns."

Nate looked at her. "Absolutely, Burns is the reason we are all here. He lets us stay here and he does his best to help us any way he can. He has saved me and Evan earlier. And he saved us all again today from the seekers that were looking for you." He waved me over. "And now he has made it possible for us to save you." Nate took a theatrical pause. "Rob, meet Burns. The finest soul you are ever likely to meet." I sat down next to Nate and could see panic starting to well up in Rob's eyes.

"Rob, I am Burns Living Flowers and I am very, very, pleased to meet you. I know you do not feel the same way. So I will leave you now, and my friends will look after you. And when you want to we can meet again." I turned around and walked to my room.

I could hear Rob's desperate voice. "But, he is one of them, why are you here with him?"

And I just heard Nate's calming reply before I closed the door. "Because he is our friend, he is more than that, he is family."

It felt good to hear it like that. But still, it would be a long evening.


	9. Interlude

**Interlude**

I stayed in my room for what must have been several hours. I tried reading a few magazines, but I couldn't focus at all, so I was mostly looking at the pictures and thinking about how things were going outside of my little bubble.

Then finally someone knocked on my door. "Please come in, it's not locked." I was eager to hear what was going on in my absence.

"Hi Burns, it's just me." Kim said as she pushed the door open and came in with a tray of food. "I thought you might be getting a bit hungry in here?"

I hadn't really thought about that, but when I did I realized she was absolutely right. "Thank you. You are an angel. But I am, to be honest, just as hungry for news on how things are going out there."

She put the tray on the bedside table and sat down beside me on the bed. "Not too good I'm afraid, Nate still has problems convincing him that you are our friend."

I could not hide my disappointment of her answer. I sighed and looked down. "Oh, that's not what I wanted to hear."

She put her arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. "I know Burns, I know. We will just have to give him some time."

I hated this, not being believed. I hated that people, humans, were afraid of me. I hated it even more that they had a reason to be. "I just wish there were some way to make people believe me, to believe in me."

She nodded. "You convinced _me_." She said. "And I am glad you did."

I looked at her. "Thank you Kim, thank you for believing in me. It means a lot to me."

She nodded. "And you mean a lot to us too Burns." She leaned over and moved a few hairs from my forehead. "It is us who should be thanking you." She looked me in the eyes. "Now eat, you have to be starving."

She let me go and it was like I was torn from a dream, waking up to the reality of our situation. But she was right, so I took a sandwich.

She took one too. "The others are eating with Rob, but I would rather be here with you." She said between bites. "It's not right for you to have to be alone like this." Now she was the one looking down at her feet. "I must admit I was very happy to see Rob, to meet another human. It was almost like I didn't believe that could happen. And still…" she sighed heavily. "If this breaks up our family I would rather not have met him at all." She looked at me again.

"Don't worry, Nate will convince him. In the meantime I will stay here out of the way." She shook her head. "No, I will not have it. You will stay with me in my room tonight. If Rob is still afraid of you it is safer for you to be with me."

I saw what she was thinking. It was not safe for me with Rob around until he could be trusted. "Ok. But where will Rob stay?" I was trying to think practical now, but she was way ahead of me. "Rob will stay here with Nate. It's already settled."

We finished the food without saying much more and when we were done she told me to come with her. She led me into the living room. The others were also finished eating now and were sitting around the coffee table. I held back, not wanting to break my promise to Rob. I did not want to push myself on him until he was ready. But Kim did not seem to agree. She went over to the others and her voice was almost hard when she addressed Rob.

"Hi Rob, there's someone that would really like to hear your story." She pointed at me. "And since this after all is his house I think you should let him."

I didn't know what to do, so I made myself as small as I could.

"I don't think I really want to talk to glowie eyes over there." He looked at me with contempt. "I don't fancy their kind."

What happened next surprised us all. Nate stood up and slapped Rob hard across the face. "That is no way to talk about my best friend." He stood over Rob that was holding his sore cheek. "You either accept us all. And I mean every single one of us. Or you can go back out there and try your luck with the seekers for all I care."

Rob didn't seem to know what to believe. He tried to object and Nate slapped him again.

I cringed. "Stop it!" I yelled, almost hysterically. "Don't hurt him. Please Nate, don't hurt him. Please…" I crouched and fell to my knees. "Please…" I couldn't stand this violence. It made me sick to my guts. It felt like I was about to throw up. My voice was reduced to a whimper now. I wasn't even sure they could hear me. "Nate, please stop." My cheeks were warm from tears. I didn't even realize before now that I was crying. I felt terrible. I didn't want them to hurt each other because of me. We souls had done enough damage to this place already. I was totally oblivious to my surroundings now, but I felt a gentle touch.

It was Kim that tried to comfort me. It had always felt good the way she cared about me. But it was more than that. At this moment I realized that I loved Kim. She was as gentle as any soul, as resourceful as any human. I loved her, I admired her, and I respected her. _She_ was my soul mate. I cried even harder now. Not only for Rob any more, but because I realized I was falling in love with someone that could not possibly love someone like me. She cared for me, but she could never love me. I felt weak and miserable.

"Come on Burns, let's go." She said and helped me upstairs.

I tried to say something, telling her not to let them fight because of me, but I wasn't sure she understood me. She just reassured me that everything would be all right.

When we got up she led me to her room and practically dumped me in the bed. "Here you go Burns, you take the bed tonight." She kissed my forehead. Her lips were burning my skin, leaving a ring of fire. All these feelings, I had not experienced anything like this in my previous life or so far in this. I was in heaven and hell at the same time.

"Thank you Kim, you are my angel" I said. At least I thought I did, I was drifting off now. The world was swirling by and going black. And then an angel talked to me in my dream and I smiled.

* * *

**Comment:**  
Ok; this was not what was supposed to happen. But leave it to Kim and Burns to mess up my well, uhm ok maybe not so well, planned chapter.  
It doesn't seem right to ammend to much on the previously posted chapter, so I'll put this here as a short short chapter. An Interlude if you will.  
Sorry about that.

And now I have redone all the chapters up to here to better the readability.


	10. Career change

**New career**

I woke up feeling my heart race. Had I fallen asleep? What had happened? Had these new and strong feelings simply overpowered me? I had no other explanation.  
I looked around, but I couldn't see much. It had to be the middle of the night, because it was dark outside. Someone was next to me in the bed. It had to be Kim.  
My angel… I wanted to lean over and kiss her like she had kissed me, but I didn't. I did not want to scare or wake her.

I stood up and walked around the room a bit. Glancing a look out the windows. There wasn't any light around for miles, only the porch light and the stars. I could hear muted voices downstairs. Apparently Nate was still talking to Rob, or it could be Evan. I only hoped they could convince him. Perhaps this will be easier the next time and the time after that, but I had to talk to Nate about his violent behavior. I couldn't break down like this every time we found someone that wasn't immediately convinced of my good intentions.

I knew that I had been lucky with Nate and the others. They already trusted Nate and his judgment. Rob did not, and any we would find in the future would be like Rob. I went to Kim's bathroom and got a glass of water. I did not want to wake her, so I just made it comfortable in the coach with a blanket. And I quickly fell to asleep again.

The next time I awoke Kim was hovering over me. "Good morning sunshine. Slept well?"  
She smiled at me. I loved how the sun caught her eyes causing them to glimmer ever so slightly. She was so full of life, like she sparkled.

"huh, well yes I did, thank you."

Then she looked at me accusingly. "But why are you here on the coach? Don't you like me anymore?"

I was a bit put off by this, not really sure what to say. "Of course I like you Kim. I woke up and walked about a bit. I didn't want to wake you so I took the coach."

She grinned at me. "I am only teasing you Burns."

She was? That was good. But I had to get better at this teasing thing. They all fooled me every time. I eased up a bit.

She laughed. "I am sorry Burns. I don't always remember that you are not too good at this. But we will practice."

I sat up in the bed and grinned back at her. "Looking forward to it," I said.

"But come on, let's go downstairs. Evan has cooked breakfast and we are only waiting for you."

She gave me her hand like she wanted to drag me out of bed.

I was a bit apprehensive at this idea. "Do you think that that will be ok for everyone?"

She just smiled and said, "If you are thinking about Rob, then I do not think Nate will give him any chance not to be ok with it. Nate had a long talk with him tonight."

I smiled and took her hand. "Good, I do not want Nate to harm him because of me."

She helped me up and looked into my eyes. "I think we are over that now. But come on, we'll find out soon enough."

She dragged me along and we were soon in the kitchen. Nate and Evan both welcomed me at once. "Good morning Burns, are you feeling better? You didn't look all too good there yesterday."

I nodded "I am feeling much better now thank you."

I looked over at the kitchen table and Rob.

"Good morning." He said flatly.

I nodded back at him with a "good morning" in return.

"Look Burns, I am sorry for yesterday." Rob began, he didn't meet my gaze. He tried, but he ended up looking down at the table. "Nate has been up with me all night to convince me that you are a good guy and all."

I looked at Nate that smiled at me, and then back at Rob, who continued to talk. "But what really convinced me was how you reacted when Nate here hit me." He looked at me now. "I saw something in you then. You cared for a complete stranger, an alien to you." He looked down again, regret showing in his words. "And I owe you an apology, and a thank you."

Nate, Evan and Kim seemed relieved at this. I went over to Rob and offered my hand.

"Rob, I would be honored if you would consider being a part of my family." He was still staring at the table, but his hand met mine and then he looked up.

"Thank you Burns."

The others were clapping now. Evan whistled a bit. It became clear to me now just how tense they had really been.

"Well" Nate said. "Evan has cooked breakfast and it won't do to let it get cold, so let's eat?"

We all sat down and the familiar setting brought up the normal conversation. Rob was not that much a part of it at first, but he soon joined tentatively, and then completely.

Evan and Kim exchanged childish offenses and again that warm feeling filled me. "My family" I thought.

Life went back to normal in a way. Rob took the vacant room upstairs and I did some shopping to make sure he had everything he needed. Rob also got to hear my full story, about my previous life and what I felt was wrong with taking over this world. He seemed to appreciate my honesty and I answered all his questions as best I could.

We went on like that for the better part of a week when suddenly one evening Nate asked me something I had not expected.

"What does it take to be a seeker? Do you have to qualify in any way?"

I almost sputtered at his question. "Well, not much. A soul that has acted bravely or with self-sacrifice on any world can be a seeker and serve the community that way." I looked at him. "Why? do you want to be one?" I didn't understand what he was getting at. But he looked at me with a stern expression.

"No, I was not planning to do that. But I was thinking that maybe you should."

_What_? Was he going insane now? Had he completely lost it? Either way he had completely lost me. I did not understand anything.

"What? Why should I be a seeker keeping the peace? Looking for humans? That would only be… or would it" it hit me like a ton of bricks. As a seeker I would have everything close that I would need to help more humans, all the information about humans and seekers at my disposal, everything.

"So Burns, you said you would do anything you could to help us out. Have you done anything that could be considered heroic? Because I think you could help us a lot as a seeker." His eyes did not move from mine. He was gauging my response to his ludicrous idea.

"I understand what you are thinking." I said. "I am not really certain how this would work. But I would be willing to give it a try." I let go his gaze and looked down. "I have only had one previous life, and even though I despise every second of that life, in it I did things that would most certainly be interpreted as brave by some souls."

He patted my shoulder. I looked up into his relieved face. "Good, I think we could do more to help more people that way."

That settled it. All I had to do now was find out how I could become a seeker.

The very next day I went to town and the local seeker office. Seeker Monroe greeted me as I came in. "Hi and good morning Burns Living Flowers. How may we help you today?" He gave me his hand and we shook. "Good morning Seeker Monroe. Actually, I would like to volunteer my services as a seeker."

He looked a bit surprised, but did not let it show in his answer. "That sounds very good. Do you have any experience as a seeker?"

"No I do not." I answered.

"I see," he said while looking me over. "Well there really isn't much to it anymore. The settling of this world is all but over. There's just the occasional stray human now, but they don't really pose any significant threat. They will be extinct soon anyway."

Not if I can help it, I thought. "That sounds perfect, what do I have to do?"

He looked at me with appreciation now. "Good, please do follow me and we will get you enrolled."

The enrollment process was even simpler than I had feared. I was registered as an active seeker right away since I had no current employment and I fulfilled all the requirements. I would have to finish an induction course within my first three months, but for now I would simply tag along with Monroe and Shadows of the Rain as an apprentice. So much for rigorous training and education regimes. As Seeker Monroe had said, there was hardly anything to it anymore. So any further training, other than observation and a few classes, was no longer considered necessary. This was so much better than we could possibly imagine. I stayed with the seekers for a couple of hours and I would start full time with them on the following Monday. By then all the effects I needed would be delivered.

When I got home, Nate met me in the door, Kim not far behind.

"Well? How did it go?" Nate asked with a voice full of curiosity.

"It went very well." I said with a smile. "On Monday I am a full time seeker at the local seeker office."

Kim looked at me with concern. "Who would have thought that I would be living with a seeker, after spending so much time avoiding them?" But then she brightened up in a smile and gave me a good long hug. "Promise me the job won't change you Burns."

I held around her, not wanting the embrace to end. "I promise Kim, I am doing this for you and other people out there. This gives us a chance to help them too."

"Good." She said while freeing herself from our entanglement. "Now that I have found you I don't want to lose you." She kissed my cheek quickly. And with a playful movement turned around and headed for the kitchen. "Come on; let's see what Evan and Rob are making for dinner."

With her kiss still very much vibrant and warm on my face I followed.

Nate put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed friendly. "I think she likes you Burns."

"I like her too." I said with a smile on my face. "I like her a lot."

Nate simply smiled and followed me inside.


	11. Just another normal day

**Just another normal day**

I came in at 07:54 on the first day at my new job. Seeker Monroe was already there to welcome me. He gave me the complete tour of the office. The Seeker office was located in the old police station, and the cars they used were the old squad cars that we had seen earlier. They were still brandishing the slogan of Mt. Pleasant Police department. Knowledge, courage, integrity. In the first wave of the occupation, it was essential not to change anything. Now there was no reason to change it either, so it remained. A relic of the once human population here. Still, the seekers were very much underrepresented compared to the old police. Now there were only two seekers manning this office. There was no need for any more as crime no longer existed.

Monroe assigned my equipment over to me. Not much really, just six canisters of sleep and a radio receiver. Monroe referred to it as a scanner. It would come in handy in case something happened and we needed other means of communication. I guessed who would actually be doing most of the listening and I smiled inside. There was no real uniform code either, but black suits were preferred by most of the seekers.

"There is nothing special planned for today," Monroe said. "We will just look after you and make sure you are comfortable here with us."  
"Thank you Seeker Monroe. I am really looking forward to learning from you." I answered.  
"Oh, you will do alright. But please drop the title." He looked at me with an amused smile "If we need to communicate quickly we can't waste half the sentence on titles."  
I saw his point. Titles where for polite conversation, not heated situations.  
"So you can just call me Monroe." He smiled. "And we usually shorten Shadows of the Rain to just Shadows too." Then he looked at me with a serious expression. "I tried shortening it to Rain once you know. Don't do that, just Shadows." Then he smiled again. "Shadows can be a bit touchy. Guess she has seen too much." Monroe nodded vaguely. "She did apply to get out of the Seeker corps, but no one would take his position here. So she was absolutely thrilled when you showed up actually."

So Shadows was looking for a way to leave the Seekers? I was wondering what she had seen, as Monroe put it, that made him want to leave.

"If you ask me she is going soft. But better not tell her I said that." He said with a grin.

Shadows came in just before nine. I had not really noticed the first time I met her, but she was beautiful. _In her late forties_, I thought. Fine lines started to show around her eyes, but like Geoff, she bore her years well. She also beamed with kindness and consideration. _She should have been a comforter or healer_, the Seeker role did not fit her being at all.

"Good morning Burns Living Flowers." She said. A pleasant smile spread across her face. "I am so glad you are here."

"Glad to be here." I answered. "If by being here I give you the opportunity to follow your calling. I am even gladder."

She nodded. "Thank you Burns."

Since there was nothing more to show me at the office, they took me for a tour around town and the nearby area that was under our direct jurisdiction. Monroe was also hard not to like, even though I tried to stay distanced he had a way to be that really made me at ease.  
Shadows on the other hand was more mysterious. Even though she seemed very glad to see me she didn't really share much after her short admition at the station.

They explained the duties of the job in great detail, even if the job now was mostly assisting with accidents and other mishaps.  
"We are the ones helping kittens from trees." Monroe said, and Shadows chuckled a little.  
But there was another purpose to the seekers as well. Souls should be able to feel safe and looked after.  
Monroe turned around to face me. "You see Burns. It is a sad fact that some of these humans are kidnapping innocent Souls off the streets." He didn't look so pleased any more.  
Shadows shot in. "Yes, it is true. These Souls are never seen or heard from again."  
I cringed inside. "That is horrible." Was it really possible?  
Monroe looked out the window like he was scanning the fields for something. "Yes it is. They are the ones I would really love to catch." He said with clenched teeth. Then he looked at me again. "Now… the average stray human is more or less harmless unless confronted directly."  
Shadows nodded approvingly. "Yes, they don't go around hurting Souls. They are too afraid of getting caught to do something like that." Shadows looked at me in the mirror. "Actually… and this point is important." She emphasized "if you see a human in a crowd, never try to detain it. Never with Souls around. Just make notes of as much as possible."  
Monroe nodded in agreement. "Yes, absolutely, we can always catch them later, but we cannot replace a Soul. If there is one thing we have learned it is to keep confrontations to a minimum."  
I agreed, this approach was absolutely best for all, also the humans that I was going to save.

Shadows continued. "There is even a group of them hiding right in the middle of town. We know they are there somewhere, but whenever we see them it's always in a public place. Hard to catch, but we will eventually."  
"Yes, the good thing is that they do not know you. So we may have a chance to get the drop on them the next time." Monroe said looking pleased with himself.

They did not really say much more the rest of the excursion. But my head was full of thoughts. Did really humans kidnap and presumably kill random Souls just like that? I had never heard anything about this on the news. I remember how I and Nate met, but he was not on some Soul-killing raid. He was out to find medicine for Evan and he did not harm me at all. And Josh? No, none of the humans I knew would be capable of doing something like this. Still it made me think.  
And how could we save the group of humans in town? We had a lot to discuss when I got home I thought.

When we got to the station Monroe suggested we take a tour of the mall as well. That was where they had seen the humans earlier. Shadows gave me copies of some sketches she had made of them.  
"You should be a painter Shadows, these are excellent." I said, truly admiring her work. It was almost like the faces came to life on the paper. She had captured every fine line and feature.  
Shadows just grunted as a reply, but I could see she was pleased with the appreciation.

I took my own truck there, Monroe and Shadows made a point of me not walking with them there. This would be just a way to see the mall with new eyes as they said. If they saw anything they would point it out to me, but we would not act today. We walked around the mall for two hours without seeing anything out of the ordinary. None of the humans from the sketches showed up at all.

Monroe and Shadows were just Seekers doing rounds and they chatted friendly with the people they met.  
I was pretending to be just a random shopper, so I stopped at almost all the shops in the mall several times. I even got some new clothes for Evan. And that was when I saw her. Just in the corner of the mirror as I was looking over some shirts. I almost didn't notice, but the light hit her eyes and I could not see any reflection. She was most definitely human.  
She was medium tall and about the same age as Kim? Her eyes were clear blue, so bright that only the lack of reflection had given her away. Her hair was almost white, but her eyebrows where darker so I thought she must have bleached her hair.

I felt relieved, what Shadows and Monroe had said was true. There were humans hiding right in the middle of the town. And even more surprising was that she was not on any of the sketches that Shadows had showed me.  
I discretely observed her from a distance hoping not to be noticed. She was moving with almost arrogant confidence, almost like Nate had done at the inn. But I knew humans better now. I could tell she was nervous. She pretended to stop and check out items, but she was really scanning for threats. She had only a small bag with her. The days takings I guessed, it was clever to shop small quantities. No one would pay attention to you then. My family had me to do their shopping for them, so I didn't really need to avoid attention as much as this one. They couldn't be hiding very far from the mall.

I looked for Monroe and Shadows, but they were at the other end of the mall now, so they had not seen her. I didn't follow when she left the store. I did not want to risk blowing my cover, but it was clear I needed help from Nate for the actual rescue. I stood in deep thought when Monroe and Shadows came over and signaled that we should leave.

I went home for the day. Driving out of the mall garage I looked for the girl from before. But I couldn't see her and I wasn't really expecting to.

It felt good to come home that day. It was my first honest day's work for a while. Kim welcomed me in the hall eager to hear about the day's events. And Evan and Rob had the dinner ready. Rob had really improved the standard of cooking, and he made Evan better too.

We sat down at the table and now it was not just Kim that was curious.  
"So, how was it today?" Asked Rob.  
"It actually went great." I answered with a big grin. "I saw another human at the mall."  
They all went quiet. For about three seconds, then they all started talking at once.  
Nate stood up and signaled for everyone to quiet down, and the murmur soon ceased.  
He looked at me. "Are you sure it was a human?" he said.  
"I am absolutely positive." I grinned. "There was absolutely no reflection in her eyes." I pointed to my own. "They were naturally blue, so it was really not that easy to spot, but there was no Soul in those eyes."  
"Interesting so this whole time there has been a human hiding in town." Nate said.  
"Several." I was letting my excitement shine through now. "The Seekers said that there was an entire group that they knew about, but hadn't managed to capture yet." I pulled up the sketches and showed them. "And the best part," I said pointing at the sketches, "Is that she, the one I saw is not even on the sketches at all."  
"Wow… that's just wonderful news, but why have they not been taken yet?" Nate said.  
"Yes, how is that even possible?" Kim wanted to know.  
"You say there are more of us in town? I had no idea." Rob said. "I thought I was all alone out there until I met you guys."  
"Just start believing Rob." I smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "Also I learned another interesting thing today." I leaned forward like I was going to let them in on a big secret. "They avoid confronting humans in public places, even when they spot them." I saw the others question this, but they did not say anything.  
"They are afraid that if they corner people they will put innocent Souls at risk."  
Rob nodded now. "That would explain it, I was certain they had seen me several times, but they never let it show." He leaned back. "Guess I got cocky. That was when they got me."  
I agreed. "That is how the Seekers around here operate. And they are certain to get the rest of the people in town soon. So there's not really much time."  
The rest of the evening was spent planning a rescue. Some things were left to luck. some to the seekers unwillingness to confront humans in public places and the rest would be left to me. I just hoped I would manage to keep up the charade.

When we finally called it a night we were all tired, but pumped about what we were going to do the next day. I went to bed planning to read a bit, but my body wouldn't have any of that and I soon faded into sleep.

I wasn't sure how long I had slept when I suddenly awoke from the sound of someone sneaking into my room.  
The voice of an angel calmed me. "It's just me, Kim. I couldn't sleep. I am so worried about tomorrow. Can I stay here with you?"  
I would never mind Kim's company, just the suggestion of it made me feel warm and giddy inside. "Of course you can stay here. I'll move over to the chair."  
She moved to me. "Oh no, you will do no such thing. Just move over a bit." I moved to one side of the bed and she snuck under the blankets.  
"Please just hold me Burns. Make me believe that everything will be all right tomorrow." She said in a pleading voice.  
I did not hesitate long, being this close to her. It felt like heaven, and she was my angel. I held her to me. Her hair smelled of honey.  
My skin burned wherever her body touched mine. I felt so warm inside that I was certain that my insides would melt away.  
I wanted to tell her how much I loved her, but I couldn't bring me to do it. She couldn't love me back so I would not put her in such an awkward position.  
"Thank you Burns." She said blissfully. "Thank you for taking care of me."

"Don't worry Kim, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you." I said in all honesty.  
"Thank you, you are my knight." She said and then she stretched a bit before easing into sleep.  
In her soothing presence I followed not long after.


	12. Monroe

**Monroe**

I got up early the next day. I managed to sneak out of bed without waking Kim. At least I thought I did. I leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Hmmm." She murmured barely audible with a smile on her lips. It felt good to see her like this, so safe and secure. So different from the first time we had met. I smiled back at her, even though she could not see it.

I went into the kitchen and found Nate and Evan already there.

"Good morning." I said as I entered.

"Good morning." They both said and smiled.

"So, Kim got a bit lonely tonight?" Nate asked with a smile.

"Ah, yes, she said she couldn't sleep and wanted some company." I said as I sat down at the table.

"I told you she likes you." Nate said and smiled at me. "I hope today works out fine, because she would be devastated if anything happened to you."

"I don't think we need to worry too much about me. After all you two are taking the biggest risk." I said.

"Well, let's not jinx it. We will all be fine." Nate said, but I detected a bit of nervousness in his voice all the same. It got me thinking if there was any better way to do this. Nate and Evan would be completely exposed. But I quickly dismissed the thought. There was nothing else we could do.

"Well guys, I must be going. I don't want to be late today." I said and got up.

"Don't you want anything to eat?" Evan asked.

I shook my head. "I am not really hungry".

"Here, at least take this." Evan said as he tossed a bun to me.

"Thanks. I hope I don't see you guys before we get home today." I said and winked, I was starting to get the hang of when the wink was appropriate. At least I thought so.

"Here's to hoping." Nate said. "Now get out of here."

"Well, good bye gentlemen." I said as I went into the hall.

I met Kim just as she was coming out of my room. "Are you leaving?" She said.

"Yes, wouldn't want to be late." I tried to sound unconcerned.

"Well, good luck to all of us then." She kissed my cheek. "Good bye knight."

"Good bye angel."

I sat in the car for a while trying to calm myself before I left. But I didn't really manage to control my fears completely. I would just have to go for it.

At the station Monroe greeted me as I came in, early bird again.  
"Where's Shadows?" I asked.

"She said he would take the day off. Now that you are here I think she is beginning to detach herself a bit. It does her good."

"Ok, so it's just you and me then. If it does her good then I wish her all the best."

"That is very good of you. She has been quite down lately. Not even the comforter has been able to cheer her up." He shook his head. "The work is a constant reminder of the things she has seen and been a part of. At the same time she does not have the conscience to leave his position without a replacement."

"So I guess it's a good thing for all that I am here then." I said. This was really a good thing? I would be alone with Monroe. Things would be easier if I did not have to convince both of them.

And Shadows, a veteran of the occupation would probably be harder to fool than Monroe that despite his eagerness was far less experienced.

Monroe smiled at me. "Yes, your timing was perfect. I think you just might have saved Shadows. Trust me I tried everything, but she would not let me help her."

His appreciation was heartfelt, I could feel it. But at the same time it did not make me feel good at all. I was not doing this for Monroe, Shadows or the other souls. I was doing this or my new family, the humans. For the first time I felt that I was betraying my kind. I was actively helping humans instead of my own. I felt a pain inside. This should have been expected, but I had not thought it would sting like this.

I desperately wanted to focus on something else so I asked Monroe what he had planned for the day.

"Actually I was thinking we could meet up with the highway seekers." He looked almost exited. "Their task is different from ours, but it is always nice to get to know colleagues." He pitched me a set of keys. "Here, these are yours. You do not have to use your own car for the service. We have a fair selection here that is rarely seeing any use anymore." He looked almost amused. "In other words, you are driving today."

In the garage Monroe pointed out my car to me. It was definitely not a regular squad car. The shape was more like a bulldog. Sleek and powerful with ramming bars on the front. The car was sparkling like a jewel.

"Burns, meet Charger. Charger, meet Burns. He will take care of you now." He looked at me obviously amused. Like a dad that has gotten his son a way too expensive toy for Christmas because he really wanted it himself. "So Burns, how does it look?"

It was no point in hiding the immediate and almost immature feelings I got from this car. "Wow, it looks really nice." I went over to let my hand glide against the white paintwork. "But certainly you or Shadows will want this for yourselves?" I said.

Monroe nodded. "Well, I and Shadows had a bet of sorts. Whoever would take her place would get this car. And now you are here. So… fair is fair, it's all yours."

I could see he was proud of this particular car. It did not look like it had any miles on it at all. "Well, I guess all I can say is thank you. It's a beautiful car." I said.

This was Monroe's cue to boast about of the technical wonder that they had hidden away down here. "It's a Dodge Charger 2014 all-wheel drive. The previous ones were only rear wheel drive."

He was clearly excited to be able to tell someone about it. Maybe Shadows had not been the best listener?

He carried on while pointing out the various advantages of this particular car. "The engine is a 370-horse power, 5.7-liter Hemi V-8. So it should give this pursuit car the ability to live up to its role perfectly. No human will be able to outrun you in this."

I shuddered as he implied the car was perfect for chasing down humans. But at the same time, no other seeker should be able to catch up to me either. He didn't notice my internal debate. He just kept rambling on and on. It was obvious that this was his baby.

"And finally we have all the standard squad car equipment as well. Searchlights, scanner and so on. But that's the boring stuff." He looked at me with anticipation. "Ready to go for a ride?"

I couldn't keep him waiting. I didn't have it in me to be that cruel. It was quite clear that he was really looking forward to our little trip. "Absolutely, whenever you are."

"Then what are we waiting for. Get in."

He was already in before I could answer. So I got in as well and buckled up. The seat belts where four point harnesses. I was impressed. Then I started the shining white demon on wheels. The engine roared to life, and with the echo in the garage it was almost unnerving.

I eased the car out of the garage, being careful to not do anything rash. I had not driven such a car before, neither had Steve, so there were no memories to draw from. Monroe looked almost impatient where he sat in the passenger seat. I was almost sorry for him, but I did not want to damage the car on my first drive either.

"Ok, we'll take the I-30 west first. We will meet the others at Denton at 10, so you had better get this vehicle moving." Anticipation was clear in his voice.

I had not seen this passion in any soul before, he was completely obsessing. Perhaps it had been a dream for a long time to get to take this car out. Whatever his motives I started feeling more secure in the handling of the car now so I was getting ready to push it a bit myself. I caught myself thinking that Nate should be with us. He would have enjoyed this, but then again I hoped he would get the chance later. My lips twitched at the thought.

We came onto the interstate and I turned to Monroe and said. "So… are you ready?"

He nodded vigorously. "You bet, have been waiting for this for some time."

"Then maybe you should hit the siren, so that we don't run into any unsuspecting souls." I said with a smile.

He turned on the lights and the siren and I stepped on the throttle. Easy at first, but when I felt how the car reacted and handled I grew more confident and stepped harder. It was truly an exhilarating feeling. The siren, the growl of the engine and the scenery just whizzing by. It made me feel sharpened. Time itself seemed to slow down. A weird, but good feeling. I noticed Monroe stiffen his body, but I heard a "Yeah!" from him and knew he enjoyed himself. I almost had to laugh. I couldn't help but like this soul.

The traffic was almost nonexistent, and the few cars that were out quickly stopped at the side of the road as we went past. We did get some worried looks from souls wondering what would cause the rush, but Monroe didn't seem to worry at all, so I just carried on. We were making good time and reaching Denton before 10 shouldn't really be a problem.

10… Nate and Evan should be in town about then. With Mt. Pleasant's entire two man seeker force in Denton they should be ok. But I would still keep my fingers crossed. Anything could happen. I would not breathe easily before we were all back at the farmhouse.

After an hour of speeding west I eased up a bit. I was getting tired from the constant concentration and we just had about twenty minutes to go, so we might as well slow down a bit.

I could hear that Monroe was almost a bit disappointed, but there was no point in having to sit around waiting for the Highway seekers for hours on end.

"Now _that_ was refreshing." I said, not really to anyone in particular.

"Absolutely, and there is the trip back also." Monroe said. Satisfied for now, but still wanting more.

"If you want we could take a detour on the way back?" I wanted to keep Monroe away from town for as long as I could, so even a trip as far south as Cleburne would be great.

"That is something to think about. Let's decide when we are on the way back. It depends a bit what they have planned for us." He said, not opposing the idea at all. But it was true. I had no idea how much time we would be spending with the highway seekers. Could be I wanted to hurry home by the time we were done here.

"That is true, let us decide later." I said.

He chuckled and changed the subject. "I knew you would love this car. It's perfect for you. It's like driving comes naturally to you."

I had to chuckle at him. He was like a kid now grinning from ear to ear. "It certainly is a very nice car." I said in agreement.

We arrived early like I thought, so we just got a table and some coffee at the small diner were we would meet the others.

I still wanted to know so I just asked him directly. "So Monroe, why didn't you want to drive yourself? You seemed to enjoy the ride quite a bit?"

He didn't seem too excited about the question. "Well, I guess I might as well tell you. I like to ride in cars, but I don't like to drive them."

I didn't feel that his answer did really answer my question, but I didn't want to push him either. "Ok, I see." I said.

"Not really I think." He smiled at me.

"Look Monroe, I am sorry I asked. You don't have to tell me. It's absolutely ok." I said,

"Yes I know, but I want to tell you… My host almost died in a terrible car crash running from seekers." He took a sip of coffee before continuing. "Our heelers patched him up. It was hit and miss there for some time. That is why I don't like to drive. I remember vividly losing control of the car." He coughed. "Even though it never happened to me, it did happen to him and the memories are quite powerful." He shrugged, obviously reliving the memories.

I put my hand on his. "I am sorry. It was not my intention to push you." I felt sorry for Monroe now. I felt sorry for them both, him and his host.

He coughed again. "It's ok Burns. It's not your fault." He said trying to sound convincing, but there was a slight doubt in his voice. "It's not really that bad."

"So what made you want to become a seeker?" Monroe wanted to know. Maybe trying to change the subject?

How could I answer this one truthfully and convincing? "Actually a friend suggested I should join. He felt, and I with him, that it was a perfect opportunity to serve my community." I said. Entirely truthful, it was not a lie when the same words had different meanings for him and me. Was it?

"Good choice." Monroe nodded.

We finished our coffee just as the highway seekers arrived slightly late. We went out to meet them. There were three cars with two seekers in each one. They looked more professional in a way than me and Monroe. They all had white suits and their cars were not unlike our Charger, but they were different brands. Two Fords and one Chevrolet if I had the brands right. As it were the other seekers came our way. They actually seemed curious.

"Hi Monroe, I see you and your recruit beat us here." One of the seekers said as they approached us. He was a rather large, but fit black man. His head was shaved and he had a real air of authority to him. Like the ground shook with respect were ever he walked. He came all up to us and introduced himself. "Hi, I am Lawrence and this is my little band of peacekeepers." He gave me his hand and we shook.

"Hi Lawrence, I am Burns Living Flowers." I said expecting a reaction to the name. But if he reacted he did not let it show. It was like his face was cut from stone showing absolutely no emotion either way. But he did understand the meaning of the name.

"Fireworld… interesting, I have never met anyone else from there." He said.

"I am the only one here that I know of." I replied. Thinking back at what Geoff had found out.

"Hmmm. Is that so? Well, I hope you are enjoying your time here?"

"Absolutely, this world is… different… I really like it here." I said.

"Good for you." He said with a smile that revealed that his face actually was capable of forming expressions. He turned to Monroe. "So Monroe, I haven't seen that one before." He said as he pointed at our Charger.

Monroe again looked pleased and I suspected he would give Lawrence the whole story that he had given me. And I was right. I had to smile at his enthusiasm. Something that came as more of a surprise was that Lawrence seemed every bit as interested as Monroe himself.

I let the two of them alone and introduced myself to the other seekers. They all seemed rather cold and distanced, unlike me and Monroe, and to some extent Lawrence. So I decided to join the two car enthusiasts again rather than staying with the others. I was hoping that Monroe would soon be done with his monologue. I was not so lucky. Monroe kept talking and finding a willing listener only seemed to spur him on. Finally he did finish almost out of breath.

"So, what are the plans for today?" I asked them both hoping to get them to change the subject. And it seemed to work.

"I was hoping you guys could accompany us on a scouting trip. We are looking for signs of human activity and we can cover more ground with more seekers." He said, again using his stone face. "There was a report earlier about suspected human activity. Probably nothing, but it is up to us to investigate."

"Ok." Monroe said. "We'll join in. where do you want us?"

Lawrence found a map in our car and showed us the route he wanted us to take. It would take us over to Wichita Falls via several back roads. We all got in our cars and we took off. Each car was going a slightly different route so we soon lost sight of the others. But we would keep in touch over the radio.

The trip to Wichita Falls would take us about three hours. This also meant that the trip home could take more than three hour. Nate and Evan should be home safe by that time. At the same time we would be three hours away should they need help. I hoped everything would work out.

We were looking for suspicious activity that could be human. I played along for now. Monroe said that these scouting trips usually didn't lead to anything, so I was not too worried about meeting humans on this trip. We had been driving for two hours now when suddenly Monroe pointed at a truck parked by a small house quite a distance from the main road.

"Look at that. Something about that looks odd to me. The truck is dirty and the whole place looks derelict." He looked over at me. "Want to take a look? It's probably nothing, but then we can tell Lawrence that we checked out a lead."

So he wanted to impress Lawrence? Was that it? I was torn inside. One part of me did not want to jeopardize the humans that could be up there. The other part wanted to find more humans. I decided to go. Anything else would look strange to Monroe. "Ok, we can check it out."

I eased the car up the dirt road to the lone house. The road was bad, and had the ruts been any worse we would have had to leave the car. But we managed to get all the way up to the small house and we parked beside the truck. Monroe took his flashlight and a bottle of sleep before leaving the car. I did the same and followed behind him to the front door.

"We have to be careful." He pointed at the door. "Here, I'll open the door. You should be ready for anything."

"Ok, I am ready." I said.

He opened the door, but nothing happened, so we both went inside. "This place looks completely empty." I said.

Monroe went over to the stove and held his hand over the pot that was on it. "Still warm, someone was here recently." He said. "And by the looks of this place it is not souls."

Was it possible? Were there really this many groups of humans around? Still, no one was here now. At least that was how it appeared.

"We should report this to Lawrence." Monroe said and started to leave to go to the car.

"Shouldn't we look around a bit first?" I said trying to stall him. "It is most likely nothing. And if they were here they have obviously left this place by now.

He looked at me. "Burns, it can be risky to search this place without backup. Humans have been here, and recently too." He pointed at the stove.

"You have me, and if we find humans I am sure we can handle it. But if there is nothing then we have called in six seekers for no reason." I was really hoping to avoid calling the others here. They couldn't be too far off and the humans here would have no chance when they got here.

"Well, ok, but at the first sign of any real danger we will withdraw and call in the others." He said.

"That sounds like a plan." I said. I was looking around for any sign of where the inhabitants could be hiding. But I saw nothing much in the living room. "You stay here and I'll check the bathroom and the bedrooms." I said. Sounding more determined than I was.

"Ok, but be careful, someone could still be here." He too sounded a bit nervous.

I checked out the bathroom first, but there was no one there. And not in the bedrooms either. I was about to give up when I noticed the rug on the floor in the last bedroom had a strange fold in it. I bent down and looked closer. The rug was hiding a trap door. So that was their hiding place.

Monroe called from the living room. "Found anything Burns?" He seemed worried.

"There's nothing here either." I called back to Monroe. "It looks like we can drop coming back. They seem to have moved on."

He sounded relieved when he answered. "I wouldn't mind it, it creeps me out moving through derelict buildings like this."

"Yes. It's a bit strange that they manage to stick out like this. If the car had been cleaned and the house had been looked after we wouldn't have thought twice about coming here." I said, trying to tip of the inhabitants as subtle as I could.

"You are absolutely right about that one. If they would blend in we would have a hard time finding them." He said sounding thoughtful. "Well are you ready to go? I wouldn't want to be late."

"I'm coming." I said and joined him in the living room.

As I carefully maneuvered the dirt road from the house I made mental note to remember to send Nate and Evan here. They should be able to convince the inhabitants of their good intent. Yes, Nate and Evan, how were they doing on their end I wondered? They should be on their way home by now if nothing unforeseen had happened.

The rest of the drive to Wichita Falls was uneventful. But my mind was racing, I was thinking about Nate and Evan and their mission. I was thinking about how we could contact the people Monroe and I had just stumbled across.

We were the last to arrive at the meeting point. The three other cars were already there. Lawrence came to meet us while the rest of the seekers remained at their cars. What a jolly bunch I thought.

"So, did you see anything interesting since you are so late?" Lawrence smiled now. Did he just make an attempt at humor?

Monroe answered "Not really, we thought we might have, but all we found was an abandoned place. If there had been humans there they were certainly long gone by the time we got there."

"Yes, that happens a lot. The few remaining humans are still wild for a reason. Some of them are rather cunning." He nodded in agreement with himself. "Still, they will soon die out. There are only a few scattered humans left. So it is not really a concern unless they harm souls. And there are no reported disappearances around these parts."

"So how did your search go?" Monroe wanted to know.

"We didn't do any better. We didn't even see anything suspicious, so you guys trumped us there." He was smiling again. "Well, I suggest we call it a day. The report was probably just another mirage, they happen every day. But anyway, thanks for your help. And it was nice meeting you Burns." He raised his hand to his face pointing his index and middle finger at his eyebrow in a sloppy salute.

"It was nice to meet you too Lawrence." I said as he turned and walked back to his partner and their car.

Lawrence got in and all the three cars drove away. Within seconds we were again alone.

"Well, that went well." Monroe said and turned to me. "Seems like he liked you too."

I wasn't too sure. "How can you tell? He was not very easy to read."

"He saluted you, didn't he? Means you are in his circle. He didn't salute Shadows ever." Monroe explained

"Thanks, that is ok then I guess… what do you say, ready to head for home?" I said.

"Sure, let's go. It's time to see what this baby can do." He patted the roof as he got in.

After fueling up we set course for Mt. Pleasant again. We did not take a detour as we had been gone long enough. So we did like Monroe said and stepped on it. The good feeling returned and Monroe also enjoyed himself. We made the trip in only two and a half hours and I dropped Monroe of at the station. I had decided to take the Charger back home, maybe to impress Nate a bit? I was not sure, maybe Nate could tell me why. I was really looking forward to seeing them now, I had never been gone this long before and I realized I was really missing them all.

It was getting dark as I came up to the house and parked as usual. But there were no one waiting in the door this time. Probably busy with something I thought. I went inside, but there was still nothing, not a sound.

"I'm home, where are you guys?" I called upstairs. Not a sound in reply. I called down into the basement as well. "Hello?"

Finally, there were some sounds. I heard Kim's muffled voice from the basement. "Burns, is that you?"

I lit up. They were home. "Hi Kim, yes, it's me."

I heard someone stirring and soon I saw Kim's face coming into the light quickly followed by Rob. But I also saw that something was wrong, very wrong. Kim had obviously cried because her cheeks were wet from tears and her eyes were red and swollen.

She ran to me and threw herself in my arms. "I am so glad it's you. We saw the seeker car and hid. But…" She started crying. "Nate and Evan haven't come home yet and I am so worried." She sobbed into my shoulder. I looked at Rob.

"It's probably ok." He said. "But I am starting to get worried myself."

"I will see what I can find out." I said patting Kim's head. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be all right."

* * *

**Comment:**

Done a bit more research and in Mt. Pleasant there is a PD, they use mostly suburbans and Ford. There is also the Titus County Sheriffs department, and they have mostly Chargers. And there is also the ISD PD that has one Charger. Not sure what the difference is, but sounds like the ISDPD is more like 'Campus Police', but I don't know.  
Three Police departments all within four blocks of each other in a town of 17000 and a county of 32000. Impressed.

The one Burns got is the ISDPD's their paint scheme is a lot sexier than the Sheriff's office (no offence).  
Google pictures "mount pleasant police department", it's the one in the middle, so they are obviously as proud of it as Monroe is.  
Also changed the cover picture to an Open Domain picture of a Dodge Charger to illustrate a bit more what the story is about.

This chapter tells more about Monroe and introduces us to Lawrence and his group of seekers.

And please review. I am hoping for input on what parts of the story and the writing that could use improvement.  
Without reviews I am flying blind.  
Tell me what you like, and tell me what you do not like. no need to explain why.


	13. Complications

**Complications**

"Kim, you and Rob stay here. I hope that Nate and Evan are just late for some reason, but if they come back before me…" I hated to say this. It was like giving up on us, on our family. But it would be just a precaution. It was after all better to be safe than sorry. "Just make sure to check their eyes. You know what I mean."

Kim gasped as the reality of what I had said sunk in. "Nooo, please don't let it be true."

I held her close, supporting her. "I hope it is not like that, but I want you safe from harm and it's better to let Nate and Evan feel unwelcome over you all getting taken." I said.

She still sobbed, but managed to press out a "Yes."

"Good, I'll try not to be long." Not long? I had no idea where they might be, but I would start at the healers. That's where they would be if they had been taken. There or at the station. "Good bye for now Kim. Rob you take care of you both. Trust no one." I left them and went to the car. Ok, the healers first.

As I drove from the farmhouse I was angry at myself that I had not stopped by the station when I let Monroe off. If Shadows had found and taken Nate and Evan, I could have been aware of this situation much sooner. I was just so eager to see them that I had rushed home as fast as I could, Stupid. I didn't turn on the sirens or the lights, but I drove faster than the posted limit, not like earlier in the day, but still faster. Now I was glad I had the seeker patrol car. It gave me some much needed confidence and authority.

As I came to the healers I slowed down and parked normally. I went inside and approached the pharmacist.

"Hello seeker, what may we do for you this glorious evening?" He spoke like he had the sun inside wanting to get out. He was full of life and happiness. If only I could feel that way right now. Instead I was carrying this big splinter right through my guts.

"Good evening. I would like to stock up on some medical necessities." I said.

He nodded energetic. "I would only be too happy to help you." He gleamed. "What do you need?"

"Just the usual medical kit contents, Heal, Inside heal, smooth and No-pain. That should do nicely."

"Of course seeker, just a minute and I will find it all for you." He moved to the shelves to get the items for me.

"So." I said trying to sound natural, like I was only looking for conversation. "Anything special happen today?"

"Here? Seeker, you surely must be joking. Nothing ever happens here. Everything is as peaceful as always." He said without looking up from the shelves.

"So, no humans have been brought in here lately?" I was still trying for the communication approach.

He looked skeptical at me. "Humans? Seeker, the last time humans came here was almost two years ago. You seekers have kept the streets free of their kind for a long time now." He said. Then he looked down at the items he had picked already and added a few more cylinders. "Here you are Seeker. The items you requested." He handed me a bag.

"Thank you so much." I said and walked to the car. That was good wasn't it? No one had been brought here at least, so even if Nate and Evan were in trouble they were probably still human. Relieved I got in the car and headed for the station. Part of me was hoping to find them there, but getting them out... It would be no real problem except for how I would explain it to Monroe. If things went bad I would not be able to hide humans any more. I would be the one that would need to be hidden. No, this would turn out all right, it had to. My family depended on it.

I arrived at the station and shook my head as if to shake away all those negative thoughts, I succeeded only partially, but it had to do. I went in and looked through the whole place. There where no one to be found anywhere. And the holding cells had not been used for some time it seemed. I was really expecting to find some trace of them here, so I was a bit taken aback. Only one more place left to check out now, the Mall and the surrounding area. That was where Nate and Evan had gone to try and make contact with the humans. But if nothing had happened, why weren't they home yet?

My mind was racing going over the possible scenarios that could have happened. And since they were not and had never been at the healers or at the station I decided it that Shadows had nothing to do with this. But what had happened?

When I got to the Mall it was dark, quiet and seemed completely empty. Not a soul in sight, no human either for that matter. I drove around the buildings looking for anything that could help me find my friends. But no, there were no signs of them anywhere. Just some cars left over night, none that I recognized.

After ten minutes of driving around the area I gave up and parked the car near the main entrance. I took my flashlight and some canisters of sleep, just in case, and went for the gate. But wait a second, what if something had happened to them? I returned to the car and got out a first aid kit. I slung it over my shoulder. "There. Now I am ready for anything…" I mumbled to myself. Maybe I was trying to convince myself, because I did not exactly feel ready for anything at all. This was not a safe place for a lone soul. I knew there were humans here. But at the same time they had never hurt a soul, they just tried to avoid getting caught. A behavior Monroe and Shadows had rewarded in a way by not provoking any direct confrontations.

I entered the Mall and walked along the store fronts shining the light in front of me and clutching the sleep canister in my right hand. I was nervous and on edge, yet I never heard them before it was too late. I felt a sharp pain to my head and everything went black. I could not move my body at all, my eyes didn't respond. I could just make out some vague sounds. Someone desperately shouting. "Nooo!" then I followed my body into darkness. Space and time ceased to exist for me.

I have no idea how long I was gone. I was certain I was awake because my senses had returned, but it was still pitch black. I had a thundering headache and my ears were ringing, I smelled something like… fungus? And it was definitely damp here. I felt around where I was lying to see if I could tell something about where I was being held. The walls felt like untreated concrete and the floor too, wet and dirty concrete. Almost like there was a layer of dirt on top. I felt upwards, but I could not feel the ceiling so I stood up. I was still not able to reach the ceiling. This had to be a rather large room. I clapped my hands to hear if the acoustics in the room could tell me anything. And the echo that came back suggested something like a big basement. I tried to move along the wall to see if I could find the next wall. I stumbled over something and fell flat on my stomach. I felt at what I had stumbled on. There was a strange softness, fabric, a pack of clothes? And further along _skin_? I instinctively pulled my arm back. My skin crawled at the touch. What could this be? But deep down I already knew what it was I had stumbled over. I forced my hand back and felt skin. It was cold to touch, all life gone from the body. No breath, no pulse and no body warmth, just the same cold as the rest of the basement. I was terrified, who was this person. Nate? Evan? No, why would the humans kill them? It had to be a soul… But who was it? I could not tell, but it became obvious that is was a female body judging from the bulk of it, but if it was soul, why was I then still alive?

I pulled away from the body. I really wanted the most possible distance between it and me. Only I was a bit more careful now. I did not want to stumble over yet another unpleasant surprise. Going the other way I quickly found the next wall and I inched along it see if I could map the room in my mind. Along this wall I did not move long before I came to something metallic. Not a shiny surface, more like rusted steel, a large cylinder shape. I moved along that too. So far there had been no sign of doors or stairs. Moving along I found more of the cylindrical steel objects, three in total. Then after finding the next wall and moving along that one I finally found a protruding concrete platform of sorts. And on the other side of that there were steps. I moved up the steps and felt the shape of a door on the wall. I found the door opener and turned it, but the door would not open. Locked, I was locked in with a dead body. Was I left for dead here? I slumped against the wall next to the door. I should probably feel despair, but I was surprisingly calm. If I should die here I had at least done it for my family, for my friends. I had made the right choices. There was nothing to regret.

It felt like hours, any sense of time erased by the darkness. It could be the middle of the day and I would not know. Finally I heard voices outside the door, their meaning was impossible to make out, but someone was definitely there. And they were arguing, I could tell that much. The key was turned and the door slowly creaked open. Flashlights appeared lighting up the room. I saw the room now for the first time, it was some sort of disused technical room. And I could make out the body at the far end of the room now.

"Burns? Are you there? Are you alright?" Nate's voice was full of concern, but it was definitely his voice.

"Nate?" I replied, asking the voice for confirmation.

"Yes, it's me." The light was pointed directly at me and I was blinded. "There you are. Are you ok?"

"I think I will live." I said, at least I hoped I would. "But my head feels like it's going to explode. What happened?"

"You had better ask our new friend here." The light left me and was pointed at a new face. I had seen him before. One of the faces Shadows had drawn. "His name is Tom and he is really sorry for what happened. Aren't you Tom?"

Tom was a short blocky man, his head was balding and his age was completely undeterminable, but between forty and sixty somewhere. He didn't really look sorry, angry and upset was more like it. With a snarl on his lips he replied. "Yeah, sure really sorry."

That was when I noticed the gun pointing at Tom. Why was Nate pointing a gun at Tom?

Nate followed up. "Give Burns the first aid kit." He motioned Tom towards me. "And if you try anything funny I will shot you dead. Burns is my best friend and much more valuable to me than any stranger, even a human."

Tom made a defiant sound, but handed me the kit and quickly stepped back.

I found the no-pain and let one of the tissues dissolve on my tongue, the headache disappeared almost instantly and I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you Tom. I really needed that."

"Well, you shouldn't really be thanking him, after all he is the one that knocked you out and put you here in the first place." Nate said, anger very much evident in his voice. "He is one of the group that you told us about. But… well there were complications. Can you walk? We really should get you out of here."

"Yes I can, but… Who is that?" I pointed in the direction of the body.

"I am really sorry Burns that is the other seeker. The woman. I know she was your friend." Nate said, his voice had changed to sadness now.

Shadows? It was Shadows. "But why did you do this? Why? She would never do anything to harm anyone. She was leaving the seekers. This doesn't make sense." Feelings welled up inside me. Why had these barbarians killed Shadows?

"I am sorry Burns, but it's complicated. We couldn't do anything to save her. I will tell you later. For now Evan could use a hand. We should really get out of here." There was a sense of urgency now that I had not noticed earlier.

"Ok." I said and got up. "But you will have to tell me everything."

"There will be plenty of time for that. I hope." Nate motioned Tom to move out of the room. Nate followed and then me. No one said anything while we walked along a dark corridor towards the light at the end. We came into another room not unlike the one where I had been. There was a group of people sitting along one of the walls. Many familiar faces, Shadows knew them well it seemed. And in the middle of the room was Evan, pointing a gun at them.

Nate pushed Tom towards the rest of the group. "Sit down." Tom did as he was told.

"Evan." I said. "Why are you pointing a gun at these people? Are we not here to help them?"

The group looked at me like one, some shied terrified away, attempting to move as far as they could. Others frowned at me with hateful stares.

Evan chanced a glance at me. "Burns, I am so glad to see you." He turned back to the group. "Yes we are here to help, but convincing them of that proved a bit harder than we thought." He shook his head. "Especially when it came to telling them about you."

I realized that I was the problem that had prevented Nate from coming home. I looked down at my feet, feeling ashamed of who I was. "Yes, I get that a lot." I said. This problem would not go away any time soon. I knew that every time we found and contacted humans we would get these reactions. The situation felt hopeless.

Then a voice came from the crowd. The voice of a child, a young boy. Maybe eight-nine years old. "But you are a glowy eyes. You can't be our friend. You will take us and turn us into you."

Another voice, the mother? "Shhh Chris, don't talk to it. He is a Seeker" Seeker, she said it like the word was glowing coal in her mouth. The one word hated the most by humans. Ironic that it was Nate that had asked me to be one. The words came from the woman I had seen at the mall earlier. She was looking scared now, the arrogant self-confidence completely gone.

"Hi Chris." I said looking at the kid. "I am Burns Living Flowers, and I want to be your friend." I looked down, wanting to hide my face from the reactions to what I was going say next. "I am a Seeker because my friend Nate here asked me to be one. I know that what my kind is doing to this world is wrong. And I will do anything I can to help you to get it back." I looked up again. Most of the group still looked at me with hate, but the kid was curious. "And Nate thought I could help more by becoming a Seeker. That way I can go looking for humans and tell him about the ones I find so that he can contact them."

"So Nate asked you to be a Seeker?" Chris obviously had trouble getting his mind around the implications, but that was ok. "Is Nate your friend then?"

I smiled at him. he was obviously on a roll. "Yes, Nate is my friend. My best friend. He is part of my chosen family, together with Evan here and Kim and Rob that are waiting at home."

The one I assumed was his mother gave up on asking him to be quiet. Actually she looked a bit curious herself.

Chris continued. "So you say you go looking for us. Are you some sort of a spy then?"

I chuckled, almost forgetting where I was. "Not really a spy. I just find humans and tell Nate where they are so he can contact them. Like you. And do you know what?"

Chris leaned forward wanting to hear more. As did several of the people in the group. "No, what?" he said.

"I found another family just today." I said.

Chris looked surprised "You did?"

Nate looked almost as surprised. "You did?"

I noticed that he and Evan had lowered their guns. A smart move I thought. "Yes, on the way to Wichita Falls there is a house where a human family lives. I was there." I answered both, but I still focused on Chris. "But I have not been able to tell Nate about it yet, because he has been here with you."

"Was there any children?" Chris wanted to know.

"I am sorry Chris, I do not know. I was not introduced. You see, they, like you, think that I am a dangerous Seeker." I nodded trying to emphasize my point. "That is why Nate has to go and talk to them. They would be scared of me. Like your family is right now"

"Oh…" Chris said, maybe he saw the problem, but I would continue now that I had his attention.

"You see, I am not very good at convincing people that I am their friend and not a dangerous Seeker."

Tom burst out now. "Stop this, can't you see he is fooling you?" He must be feeling that I make a good argument to burst out like this I thought.

"But the other two are human, we saw that ourselves. And they say the same. Why would they lie to us? What could possibly be the reason?" She spoke our case now. "I want to believe, why would they make up a story now? We are at their mercy anyway." She looked defiantly at Tom. "If you were right this place should be crawling with Seekers this very moment."

Tom had an expression like someone had just punched him straight in the face, it was almost like he staggered from the impact of the words. "Rachel, we need to be careful. How can we know if it tells the truth… or the other two for that matter?" It hurt a bit again, being referred to as _it _again. But even Kim had done that once, and now she was my friend. So it should be possible to convince the people here as well. And with Tom on crumbling ground it looked like it was possible.

"Thank you." I said to Rachel. "I know it is hard to accept me since I am what I am, I can't help that." I hoped she was the one that could tip the balance. "But you can trust me when I say that I can help you." She did not look entirely convinced. I realized they should really be talking with Kim, she had a way to show her emotions that could convince a rock to shed tears.

I looked over at Nate. "We should introduce these people to Kim I think. She could convince them."

I could see that Nate agreed, he nodded. "You are probably right, but how can we get them all to the farmhouse? There are nine people here."

"I'll go." Said a new voice from the group. A woman with graying hair stood up. "I'll go. I am tired of running anyway. If you people are telling the truth it would be the best thing to happen to this group."

Tom looked like he did not know what to think about this. He frowned at her. "Sandra! Are you crazy?"

"Tom, I love you, but this has gone far enough. You even killed that other seeker. For what? He had never done anything to us. They have always left us alone." She sounded angry and accusing.

"He surprised me and Nate here, what was I supposed to do?" He threw his hands in the air. "They have left us alone because they did not know that we were human. Nothing else." Tom crossed his arms like an angry child.

"Actually that is not true." Nate chimed in and took some paper from inside his jacket. "These are drawings of you that the dead Seeker made. They knew about almost all of you." He unfolded the paper and showed some of the drawings. They all looked shocked, most of all Tom.

"Yes." I said. "They knew very well, but they also avoided confrontation. As long as you did not harm anyone they left you alone." I did not say, but the time of no confrontation was over. Once they had killed a Seeker they would be hunted down and taken. It would be out of the jurisdiction of the local office.

Tom looked in disbelief on the drawing that portrayed him. "They knew?"

"Yes, they did." I said. "But now she is dead. She is no longer able to protect you. It was her decision not to confront you… and now she is dead." As Monroe had said it, Shadows had gone soft. Not like me, but still trusting the humans not to harm souls. Now she was dead because of it. Sadness filled my heart and my throat thickened.

Tom shook his head. "It can't be true. It can't?"

I was getting tired of this pathetic man's ramblings. He was starting to annoy me. And it was a feeling I was completely unfamiliar with. But he managed to draw it out of me. "Look Tom, I am sorry, but we have no more time for your doubts." I said with my eyes watering. I looked at Nate. "If we cannot find a way to cover up this murder, this place will be crawling with seekers from out of town. The local office, I, will not be able to hide them. They_ will_ be found." I said gesturing at the confused group of humans. "We need to make this tragedy look like an accident. Or all we have worked for will be for nothing."

Nate nodded and looked at Evan. "Suggestions?"

"We could use his car. A car accident could look convincing?" Evan said.

"That sounds doable. Burns?" Nate should know better than to have to ask for my approval? I suspected he was putting on a show again so I played along.

"That sounds like the best option. What time is it?" I still had no idea what the time was.

Nate looked like he didn't understand the question, but Evan caught on at once. "You weren't down there that long. It's about four in the morning."

Good I thought, then we still have about three hours before Monroe comes in. "Perfect I said. Then we have time. But do we have the help we need?" I glanced over the group of humans. They looked a bit more relaxed now.

Nate turned to the group. "We will help you, but can we trust you to help us and not do anything more stupid?" He focused on Tom. "Tom, you have gotten us all into a real mess. Can we count on you?"

Tom nodded. He looked like a beat man now. "Yes you can." He mumbled.  
"We will do what we can, you can count on us." Sandra said.  
"I'll help." A young man said.

The whole group seemed totally changed now. Three more chimed in in approval.

"Good. That is very good." Nate said, almost touched by the change in the group. "But we should get you all out of here. In case the plan goes wrong, the other Seeker, Monroe, will now that you are here. But we only have one car."

"Not all true, I have the squad car here and the truck at the station. I suggest Evan and I go get it. Then we will have room for everyone." I said. "But I will have no part of arranging the accident for poor Shadows, so I will leave that to you."

Nate and Evan nodded somberly.

We went to get the truck and we were back before long. By then Nate, Tom and two others had already left to deal with the accident. The six others where easily placed in the two cars.

They had packed all their belongings, but it did not really amount to much, so it fit easily in the truck. Sandra, Chris and Rachel would ride with me in the squad car and the rest with Evan.

I opened the door for them. "You can ride up front with me mam." I said to Sandra.

"Well thank you young man." She said and got in. I could hear she was nervous, but she had decided not to show it.

Rachel looked at me as she entered the car. "I hope you are for real Burns."

I could not help, but to smile. "Yes, they all say that. But I assure you that I am."

Chris on the other hand only seemed too happy to get in the car. "Wow, I am going to ride in a real cop car siss. How fast does it go?"

I chuckled now. I loved the energy and enthusiasm he had. "As fast as you want."

"Yeah!" He said and got in. "Can we turn on the siren and the lights?"

I looked at Rachel that seemed a bit uneasy already. "No Chris, I don't think we need to draw any more attention to us tonight. But I promise you we will do that some time." She seemed a bit relieved at my answer.

I got in and Evan was ready as well so we drove off and headed home. Our small two-car convoy was the only traffic at this time of the night. In addition, the lights were out in most of the houses we passed so I was certain no one would report a cop car full of people heading out of town.

When we got to the house, the sun was rising. I parked the car close to the house.

"Could you guys just wait in the car for a bit? There is something I need to do." I said to my passengers.

"Of course, you should run to her, she must be worried sick." Sandra said with a clever smile.

How could she know? I thought, but I simply said. "Thanks." Then I got out and ran to the house. Evan had not even parked yet.

This time she was waiting for me in the door, she was crying now. I reached her and put my arms around her in a warm and long embrace. I was just vaguely aware that Rob was there also, it was like he didn't matter. Not like Kim.

She was crying into my shoulder. "I thought I had lost you. Lost you all. Please never leave me again. The next time I will go with you." She sobbed. "I love you. I couldn't live if I were to lose you."

She loved me? I could not believe it? I did not think it was possible for her to love me? my heart melted away, utterly convinced she was telling the truth, and the warm feeling returned. Burning like a fire inside.

"And I love you my angel. I have loved you since the day I met you." I realized it was the truth. I had always loved her.

She pushed herself slightly away from me. Did she want me to let her go? She looked into my eyes. "You do?" she said. What was this? But I had let too much slip to stop it now. Either way she should know. I was just hoping I did not put her in an awkward position.

"Yes, I do. How can I not? You are my shining star, my angel. I love you with all my heart and soul." I said.

She put her arms around me again and pushed her lips to mine. Feeling her soft lips on mine, it was wonderful. She did not let go, and I did not care. I wished this would go on forever. In the arms of the woman I loved. It all felt so right.

When we finally ended the embrace, it was almost as if we had to come up for air. She again looked me deep in the eyes. "I thought you didn't have it in you to love me." She said.

I smiled at her. "I absolutely have it in me. I just did not think that you could ever love someone like me." I looked down, again this shame. My kind was an enemy of her people.

She put a finger under my chin and lifted me up. Her tears were all gone now, replaced with the most beautiful smile. "Like you said Burns. How can I not? You are the kindest and gentlest soul I have ever met. Human or alien." She kissed me again.

When we stopped, I noticed that eight sets of eyes were on us.

Evan whistled a happy tune. "Wow. That was a long way coming." He said.

Sandra clapped and Rob patted my shoulder. "Glad you got that sorted." He said.

Kim and I must have looked equally confused because Rob followed up. "We have all seen it. Apparently not you yourselves." He grinned. "Aren't you going to introduce our new friends?"

New friends? I had totally forgot all about everything else. "Uh, sure…" Still holding Kim to my side I turned towards the group of new arrivals. "Kim, Rob. This here is our new friends." I pointed them out in turn. "There's Sandra."

"Glad to meet you." Sandra said, perfectly at ease now.

"There's Chris. He loves cop cars." I said as I pointed him out.

"Hi, yes I do. When can we go on that ride?" he eagerly jumped up and down as he answered.

Then I pointed to Rachel. "That is Rachel."

"Hi, I am Chris' sister. And you are Burns girlfriend I assume?" She said with a smile.

I looked at Kim, and she looked at me. "Yes I am." She said with a big smile. "I am Burns Living Flowers' girlfriend." It was almost as if I drowned in the ocean of her blue eyes.

Rob whispered. "Not to disturb or anything, but there are three more?"

I snapped to attention. "Uh… yes. This is…" I pointed at the next person, remembering that I had not heard his name.

Evan saw me stumble, so he took over. "This here is Delwyn."

Delwyn nodded.

Evan continued. "And this is Carlos and Susan."

They both nodded.

"But do come in." I said. "I am sure we can get something to eat." I had to go to work soon too. But one thing at the time.

They all seemed to think that was an excellent idea. Rob took the hint and sprinted to the kitchen to prepare a meal for our new arrivals.

As they all went inside they all greeted Kim as the lady of the house. It was fun to watch her surprised face.

Rachel stopped completely when she came. She studied Kim's eyes and said. "So it is true. He is for real. I don't know you yet, but I am happy for you."

Evan soon joined Rob in the kitchen and Sandra also seemed eager to contribute.

We ate and Rob and Evan told the new ones how they had ended up here. Not unlike themselves.

I had to get ready for work so I took a shower and Kim tended to my wounds and bruises. Perfectly healed and presentable I was ready for work. I kissed Kim goodbye and we assured each other of our love. I left just as Nate, Tom, and the others arrived, but I had no time to talk with them now.

The family was growing now. _Guess we need to do some shopping_ I thought as I headed for work.

* * *

**Comment:**

Please, if you have read this far leave a review.  
I am doing this so see if I can, so I am depending on feedback to tell me what I am doing wrong.


	14. Clean up

**Clean up**

I got to the station and as usual Monroe was there first waiting for me.

"Good, you are here. I just got a report about a car accident, we need to go and check it out. The ambulance is also on the way." He wasted no time and almost dragged me along.

When we were in the car with sirens and lights racing to the site I asked. "Do you have any details on this accident?"

"Details? No not really. A worried soul just called in to say he saw a car burning near the railroad bridge." Monroe said. "We will have to see what it is when we get there. Hope no one is hurt." He added.

I knew that we would find a soul in that car. I needed to act surprised. Could I do it convincingly? I was really not looking forward to this.

When we got to the scene the ambulance was already there and the healers were waiting for us. They had parked some twenty yards from the bridge and the wreck that was rammed against one of the bridge supports. Monroe asked one of them directly. "So, what do we have here Starlight?" It was obvious he knew them from before.

"Oh, hi Monroe." The healer acknowledged our presence with a short look before again fixing his eyes on the burned out car. "Well, it looks like an accident. The car must have caught fire after driving into the bridge here." He pointed at the wreck. "And the sad news is that there is a body inside." Starlight seemed depressed. _This must be the worst part of their job_ I thought. Despite our advanced medicine there were times when not even our healers could do anything, but share in the grief of lost loved ones.

Monroe looked over at the car. "Well Burns, let's take a look shall we." He motioned me to come with him and we went over to the wreck. Even on the way there Monroe recognized the car. He moved in a quicker pace now, running to the wreck. His face changed and once looking in trough the broken side window he broke up in tears. "No! Shadows, why?" Kneeling on the grassy curb, he hid his face in his hands. Sadness evident and contagious.

"What is it?" I asked with a lumped throat that I hoped he didn't notice.

In between sobs, he forced the words out. "Shadows. It has to be. It's her car." He tried to calm himself, but only with partial success.

"Oh no." I said. "That is terrible." I struggled to contain myself and had to look away more than once. Sadness and grief was gripping me too. Finally no longer able to hold my face I released my tears as well.

Monroe sat there rocking from side to side. sobbing uncontrollably and almost chanting, _why_? He sat like this for what seemed like forever.

When he finally got to his feet again, he must have used all his will power to act professionally. He looked back up the street in the direction the car would have come from. Tears glistening in his eyes. "But what happened here? Shadows was a good driver, didn't exceed the posted limits either." Monroe was rubbing his chin between his thumb and index finger. "Must have been something with the car. Only explanation I can think of."

"Could be. So what do we do now?"

"We open up this wreck so that the healers can bring poor Shadows with them." He had more self-control now, but still his eyes moistened when mentioning Shadows. "Then we call a tow truck to get this wreck to the mechanics. I want them to find out what could cause this. But first we need to take some pictures for documentation."

"I'll get the camera then." I said, aching to get away from him, to get a reprieve from the situation.

He barely acknowledged me. "Good, good." He said absentmindedly.

Back at the squad car I lingered a bit, taking my time to ensure my composure was up to Monroe's scrutiny. No, I definitely did not like this situation at all. I fetched the camera from the glove compartment and returned.

"Take snaps of everything, we are looking for skid marks and brake tracks." He pointed his hand at what he wanted me to take pictures of.

We finished documenting the scene and opened the wreck so that the healers could take Shadows. The door was already jarred open so we just needed to bend a bit. We hardly spoke at all. Words were meaningless at this point. Monroe had lost a colleague and a good friend. I did not know Shadows that well, but my heart ached as we labored with the healers to get her free.

We put Shadows in the ambulance and Monroe kissed her head through the blanket covering her body. "Good bye my friend. My soul mate. I will miss you, always."

The tow truck arrived and they pulled the wreck onto the flatbed. With nothing more to do we headed back to the station. Monroe remained quiet and solemn. As if he had retreated into his head and shut himself off from the outside world. It was like he felt worse every second going by.

When we arrived at the station Monroe had still not said a word. I parked the car in the garage and walked him to the office. He slumped down in his chair staring empty in front of him.

I broke the awful silence "I am sorry about Shadows."

His eyes moved slowly to me. "It's ok Burns, it's not your fault…" he looked back at his desk, like he was looking for something. "I think we should call it a day." He added. "Too much emotion for one day." His eyes were moist again, and I could see he was really focusing on keeping up appearances now so I did not delay my answer.

"Do you need help with anything? Can I drive you somewhere?" I asked.

"No I am fine, I will stay here a bit and finish up some paperwork. You just go home. It's not like anything else will happen today." He looked at me with glazed eyes. "Just take care of the ones you love Burns. You never know how much time you have."

"I will." I promised myself to follow this word of advice. "So, good day then Monroe."

"Goodbye Burns." He looked away and out the window.

I wished there was something I could do for him, but he did not want any help so I took my leave.

I stopped by the mall on my way home thinking I could find some clothes and other necessities for the new additions to my family. I went through many shops hoping to find that special thing for everyone, but I didn't really know them at all. I ended up getting a variety of clothes, both for work and some that was more for the festive occasions.

Shopping for my family made me think of them and that made me feel good. I passed the toy store and saw a nice radio controlled squad car. Not exactly like the one I had, but it was hopefully close enough. _That will be a nice moving in present for Chris_. This would have to do. People were already starting to look my way. But on my way out there was just one little thing that caught my eye. So I had to make a detour to the jewelers as well.

When I got home, Evan was literally beaming as he met me in the door. "You're home early?"

At first I was infected by his good mood. Then I remembered the reason I was home early and any prospect of happiness was quickly squashed and vanished into my gut. "Yes." I said looking at the threshold. "Monroe needed some time alone to deal with Shadows death. He told me to go home."

Evan also seemed affected by this and his good mood withered. "I see. That is to be understood. Bloody idiot that Tom…" He clenched his fist.

"Yes it was unnecessary. And we will discuss this later, but for now…" I pointed at the squad car. "I could use some help getting some stuff inside."

"Of course" He said and followed me to the car. When he saw the boxes, he balked. "Did you empty the Mall?"

I felt my lips pull into my cheeks. "No I didn't, but I did get some questioning looks this time. So I had better shop smaller quantities... I just couldn't help it." Then I remembered his mood when I arrived. "But, tell me, why were you so happy back there?"

He chuckled. "Oh that. Nothing really, just one of those days I guess."

My experience with these people told me that he did not tell the whole truth. At the same time if he withheld anything this way it could not really be bad. So I let it go. "Ok, you just had the most contagious smile there."

We carried the boxes of shopping into the living room. Nate, Rob, Tom, Sandra, Chris and Rachel were there. Chris was playing with some pieces of board on the floor. Using them as building blocks.

"Hi all." I said when setting down one of the boxes. "I brought you guys some house warming presents."

"I'll get the rest." Evan said and disappeared back outside.

"So, you're at it again." Nate said with a chuckle as the others looked curious at the boxes.

I opened the first one. "Let's see what we have here." I sorted through the bags in the box, but everything was of course for those that were not present. "Where are the others by the way?"

Rob got up as if on cue. "I'll go get them." He said and disappeared into the hall.

I opened the next box and now we were on to something. That bag was for Sandra and that one for Tom. I pulled them up and walked over to them. "Ok, Sandra, Tom, this is for you." I gave them the bags. "I am sorry. I do not know anything about your tastes or sizes. But what does not fit I can just take back and get the right size."

Sandra seemed impressed. "Wow, thank you Burns." She smiled at me. Then she jabbed Tom in his ribs with her elbow.

He looked unhappy, but mumbled a thank you anyway.

"You are welcome." I said and smiled at them both. I did not know what caused this behavior from Tom, but I would not push the issue, at least not now.

And there was Evan with the next batch of boxes. "There's even more out there. Looks like I'll be doing this all day." He threw out his hands mocking despair, but his face gave him away easily enough.

Moving over to a new box I found it, the radio controlled squad car. I pulled the box from the bigger box. I looked over at Chris that still seemed completely focused on his building.

"Hey Chris, I have something for you as well." I said.

I could see he lost focus on the build and looked at me. "You do?" He said sounding surprised.

"I do, here it is." I said and handed the box to him. Rachel was watching with curiosity now.

Chris immediately saw what it was. "Wow! Thank you… Look Siss, it's a police car."

"Lucky you, why don't you open it." She smiled at me as well and mouthed a _thank you_.

"Oh, but I have something for you too Rachel." I got a bag up from the box as the others started coming into the living room. "Here you go."

"Thank you Burns." She smiled a wide smile. And best of all, they all seemed perfectly relaxed around me now. Well except Tom, but we would fix that too in time.

"So what's happening here then?" it was Kim.

I felt my heart skip a beat. "Oh hi Kim, just distributing some house warming presents."

She came over and kissed me on the cheek. "You are good at that." She winked.

Evan came in with the last box and I distributed the rest of the clothes.

"You sure know how to please people." Nate said with a smile.

"Thank you. I try my best. I just wish I could do more."

Nate nodded. "I know the feeling."

"So what has happened here while I was gone?" I asked no one in particular while I looked around the room.

Evan answered quickly. "We are a bit short of rooms, so we have rearranged the assignments a bit."

"Yes." Rob shot in. "We are looking into making more rooms in the basement." He looked in the direction of the hall where the stairs to the basement started. "It looks dry down there, so it should be fairly straight forward."

So that's where they had been when I got home. I should have thought about that earlier. At the same time I couldn't have asked the carpenter apprentices to do the basement as well. That would have looked like a strange request from a single soul when there were already five other bedrooms in the house.

"I guess it will be crowded for a while then," I said with a big grin. I couldn't help it, souls are social beings. And for once I did not find that being a soul was a particular hindrance. I felt great.

When the buzz about the warming presents had died down Nate took me aside and we sat down at the kitchen table. Rob and Evan were already there.

"Burns. Back at the mall you mentioned that you had found more humans?"

"Must have been humans. They tried hard to avoid us. I only spotted their hideout by chance."

"Good enough for me." Said Evan.

"So how do we go about contacting them?" Nate put the question out there for us all.

"For all we know it could be a whole family." Said Rob. "We don't have room for any more right now."

"Either way we should let them know about us." I said. "Maybe they can stay where they are, or they may have other hideouts as well. But if we do not make contact now we may lose them."

"True." Nate said. "I figure me, Rob and Evan should go. We can bring them some supplies at least." He pulled up a map and laid it out on the table. "Burns, can you show us where this was?"

I scanned the map and quickly found the location. "It was here." I said pointing at the closest intersection. "There is a small red house at the end of a dirt road going about here. There's also an outhouse, and when we stopped by there was a car outside as well."

"Hmmm, thank you Burns. Well guys, I think we should be going. Just hope they have not been scared into relocating." Nate said.

We packed as much supplies as we could spare into Nate's Suburban and within an hour, the three of them left. I waved them off from the door hoping that there would not be any complications this time, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Here we go again." Kim said. "This time you will not go after them. They will figure this one out themselves."

I watched the suburban move onto the main road. "That seems to be the safest choice."

* * *

**Comment:**

Ok, so I got a bit caught up in the season and started handing out presents to everyone. well, seemed fitting this time of year.

So, this should have been longer, but suddenly it felt like a good place to break up into smaller chapters.  
Please,** if you are reading this and have gotten this far review. And be honest. No need to justify your opinion, just leave it here so that I know where I am.  
**

This is not proofread, edited or revised yet, so I am certain that there is something to comment on, and If you want me to continue please do say so.

The first chapters have now been redone four times. So I guess I will accept them for the time being and wait until I am close to finished before I go over them again. I just don't want to stop the progress by going too deep in revisions. But there will be more revisions until we are all satisfied with the story.

And for those that have read the previous chapters before revision. Shadows has changed from man to a woman. This may have left a couple of references to her as a man, please let me know if you spot one so that I can fix it.

I have also tried to convey a bit more of Monroe's feelings on her death. He did not take in any way take it lightly.

**2014-01-08** Added the part where Nate left to find even more humans, that is not something Burns will be a part of from now on. he thinks ;-)

**2014-01-13** Edited the whole chapter to try to show a bit more feelings from Monroe. Not really done yet, but in order to be able to continue I think I will have to leave it as it is now for a while.


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